


A Scorpion Among Roses

by JajaLala



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power
Genre: A little bit of angst, Captured, F/F, Girls Kissing, Happy Ending, Kinda dominant Perfuma, Kissing, Sexual Tension, bondage? slightly
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-22
Updated: 2019-03-08
Packaged: 2019-08-27 21:16:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 12
Words: 22,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16710175
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JajaLala/pseuds/JajaLala
Summary: When Scorpia gets caught by Perfuma, some unexpected bonding occurs. What happens when you pair:Someone tough who thinks she's only seen as sweet, withSomeone sweet who thinks she's only seen as tough?





	1. Loosen Up Around The Tail

**Author's Note:**

> Honestly Scorpia works as a ship with literally every single character. She is full of love. But I haven't seen any Scorpia/Perfuma at all yet, so I'm being the change I wish to see in the world.

Scorpia trudged through the underbrush, watching the tracker in her hands carefully. Entrapta said there were definitely signals of Old One’s tech somewhere in Plumeria, but Scorpia needed to retrieve the actual technology. She squinted at the tracker. Although at a distance it seemed like one big dot, there were actually two little red dots, and she was not sure which one she should check out. Fortunately, since they were so close together, she guessed it would not be hard to grab them both.

She tried to focus on both the tracker and the foliage around her, but it was a challenge to watch the tracker for too long. When she got too absorbed in watching the dots get closer to her location as she walked, a stray root caused her to trip and fall, eliciting a mumble, “Oh geez, I didn’t see that there...”

She got up again, and tried to pay more attention to environment. So long as she held her path straight-ish and checked the tracker every now and again, she should be able to keep the right direction. And there was so many interesting plants here! Up until recently, Scorpia had mostly been on battle missions, so she didn’t usually have time to stop and stare at the scenery. She hadn’t realized how many different colors ferns could be! Honestly, if she were to take a vacation, Plumeria might be the place to go. Something in the back of her head niggled at her, warning her that there was a very good reason not to run back and grab Catra or Entrapta right now to enjoy it with her. But she couldn’t quite place her finger on what the issue would be.

“Halt!” Oh yeah, the Rebellion.

Scorpia raised her tail, poised to stab the general direction where the voice came from, but was assaulted on all sides. The plants she had been admiring twisted and wrapped themselves around all of her limbs, almost instantly immobilizing her.

She tugged at the plants, but they criss-crossed and wrapped with a strength so great she could not even break it with her claws. “Wow, these are super secure!” She exclaimed.

Some trees parted to allow a woman through. “Scorpia,” She hissed, arms crossed.

Scorpia looked her up and down. Long, gorgeous blond hair, with flowers woven through… “Perfuma?”

“What is the Horde doing, poking around Plumeria?”

“Well honestly, not all that-”

“I should warn you,” Perfuma, with roots moving beneath her feet, practically flew up to Scorpia’s face, “That we are no longer the wallflowers we once were.”

Scorpia stared up at her, she wasn’t used to craning her neck  _up_ to see someone. “Sure, but I can assure you that-”

“We are the thistle in the bush, the bramble in the woods, the thorn of the rose! Pick a fight with us, and you’ll see just how deadly nightshade can be!”

Although they were threats, Scorpia had to share some feedback, “Very intimidating, while also being poetic. I dig it.”

Perfuma narrowed her eyes at her. “Why are you here?”

Scorpia laughed. “Well, as I started to say twice before, I was just looking for something.”

Perfuma looked at her expectantly, waiting for her to continue. When she did not, Perfuma asked, “...What are you looking for?”

“I, um, wow this is awkward,” Scorpia sighed, “See, I’m kind of technically sure I’m not… supposed… to tell you? It’s like, Horde stuff, nothing to worry about.”

Perfuma jabbed a finger towards her. “You think I’d just let you go after hearing that?”

“I can’t actually tell you details, but I can assure you I’m not trying to, like, directly hurt Plumeria or anything.”

Perfuma rolled her eyes. “Wow, that was super convincing.”

Scorpia grinned. “Really? Thanks!”

For a moment, Perfuma just stared down at her. Then, she smirked. “You know, I’ve always wanted to try… torture.”

“Really?” Scorpia exclaimed, “Can I join you? They gave us some training on that in Force Captain Orientation, but I haven’t had many chances to use it-”

A leafy vine slapped itself over Scorpia’s mouth. Perfuma turned, and with the flick of her hand, used the vines to carry Scorpia back to her private grove.

 

 

Okay, Perfuma had never actually tried to torture someone before, but she could… she could try! That’s what big, tough, war generals did. When they found the enemy prowling in their territory. They did what had to be done. She took a deep breath, and uncovered Scorpia’s mouth.

“Firstly, beautiful grove! I love those big red flowers over there, the little stream with the itty-bitty waterfall, so cute! Also what are the yellow flowers? And the orange flowers?”

Perfuma was a smidgen taken aback by Scorpia’s word dump. But she was determined to stay tough. She raised herself up with vines to tower over Scorpia. “ _I’m_ the one asking questions around here.”

“Alright, alright,” Scorpia had the audacity to  _chuckle_ at her, “But before you ask: Yes, this is my natural hair color.”

Clearly, Scorpia was not taking Perfuma’s threats seriously. Well, Perfuma would just have to show her she was  _serious_ . She slowly squeezed her fist, compelling the vines around Scorpia to tighten. Scorpia’s face changed; for once a cloud of worry started to come over her. A self-assured grin came over Perfuma’s face. “I can squeeze even tighter than that if you keep playing games.”

“This is cool in a being-squeezed-by-a-snake-about-to-eat-me sort of way, but could you maybe loosen it a bit on the tail?” Scorpia’s face was starting to redden.

Perfuma chuckled. “What? Sensitive there?” Highlighting her ruthlessness, Perfuma deliberately squeezed specifically the tail tighter.

Scorpia gasped.

Perfuma was not used to people being scared of her. She liked the feeling.

“Yes, it’s sensitive, but-” Scorpia was interrupted by Perfuma squeezing tight again. When she caught her breath, she continued, “-not in the way you think.”

That caused Perfuma to pause. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

“Are you really gonna make me say it?”

Scorpia’s face was now as red as her claws. Internally, Perfuma patted herself on the back for being so intimidating. “Say what? ‘Oh Perfuma, please have mercy on me, I’ll tell you everything’? Because I might consider being kind if you beg.” To emphasize her current mercilessness, Perfuma squeezed the tail again.

“Okay, I didn’t want to make this weird, but I gotta confess: My tail is  what one might call a ‘special area’ that’s very sensitive in a specific way, and your vines are currently…” Scorpia was sweating now, “Well, they’re, um, to put it delicately, ‘stimulating’ it.”

The implication dawned on Perfuma. Her eyes widened.

“...And me. Stimulating it, and by proxy, me.” Scorpia squeaked out.

Perfuma immediately loosened all the vines to have only the slight est grip on Scorpia’s tail.  She buried her face in her hands and turned away. “Sorry.”

Scorpia glanced away. “No big, it’s not very obvious, and you didn’t know after all.”

Perfuma groaned, embarrassment and frustration bubbling in her stomach.

“You okay there?” Scorpia asked with a gentle voice.

“No!” Perfuma exclaimed, turning on her, “I’m trying to interrogate you and be a leader and war general, but I don’t know what I’m doing! I’m not scary at all!”  
“Aww, don’t say that,” Scorpia assured her with a sweet voice, “You’re plenty scary.”

“Scarily bad at threatening people, you mean?”

“No! Honestly Perfuma, I’m a Force Captain. That’s like, the third highest position in the Horde. I’m well trained in both battle and stealth, yet you were able to sneak up on me and immobilize me in literally less than a second.”

Perfuma looked at Scorpia with wide eyes.

Scorpia continued, admiration in her voice, “That is so – forgive me for my language – so badass! You’re able to use your powers effectively and efficiently, enough so to take down a powerhouse like me!”

“I am pretty good with my powers,” Perfuma admitted.

“And besides, by the laws of the jungle, if you beat someone you’re officially stronger than them. And you’ve defeated me, who’s rough and tough, so you’re at least rougher and tougher than me.”

Perfuma laughed. “Are you really?”

Scorpia pursed her lips. “That’s the impression people give me.”

“Would someone tough immediately start comforting their captor?” Perfuma smirked. “If anything, you seem awfully sweet to me.”

Scorpia began to redden again, so Perfuma loosened her grip on the tail again just in case. “Sweet? Me?”

“Like sugarcane,” Perfuma assured her.

The two of them did not speak a moment, unsure of where to go from there.

Finally, Scorpia coughed. “Um, I ‘beg for your mercy’, because I have this terrible itch on my nose, would you mind-”

Perfuma laughed, bathing in the glow of being called strong. “Maybe enduring that should be your torture.”

“Oh pretty please, it’s  _so_ itchy, just an itty bitty scratch will do, didn’t you say I was sweet? Couldn’t you spare some kindness for such a sweet friend?”

Perfuma’s heart sped up at being called a friend. Was that alright to be with a… a Horde member? Like this? Perfuma took a breath, it’s not like a little bit of banter ever hurt anyone. And, although Scorpia was the enemy, her words  _had_ comforted her. Perfuma could not pretend it was not a kind thing to say.

“It itches so bad, please,” Scorpia begged.

And Perfuma liked being begged.

She came up to Scorpia, her vines keeping her towering above. She liked looking down on Scorpia, and seeing Scorpia crane her neck (at least, as much as she could crane in those vines) to keep Perfuma’s face in view. She reached out a single finger to scratch the nose. Her eyes focused on Scorpia’s white hair. It looked soft to the touch.

Dismissing a strange urge to run her fingers through the white strands, she refocused on the nose. Using a single finger, she scratched the tip.

Scorpia sighed. “Thank you. And sorry.”

Perfuma noticed the poised stinger a moment too late to dodge. She felt a pinch in her thigh, then darkness.

 

 

By the time Perfuma woke up, it was nearly sun down. She cussed herself out for trusting the enemy so easily. She gave herself a wake up slap using her own vines, as punishment for believing a  _Horde soldier_ so easily.

The movement of the vines disrupted something, though. A single slip of paper floated up, landing next to Perfuma. She lifted it up and gaped at the contents.

 

_Hi Perfuma,_

_Sorry about leaving so abruptly, I didn’t want my other friends to worry about me not returning. Thanks for your kind words. Good luck with your torture studies!_

_Love,_

_Scorpia_

 

Beneath that, there was a cute stick figure drawing of two girls holding hands. One with big claws, which had to be Scorpia, and one with long hair and flowers. Perfuma peered closer at her portrait. Scorpia had even remembered to add some freckles.

She sighed, leaning back against a tree. Just how much of that had been faked?


	2. I Swear I Didn't Lie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia finds herself back in Plumeria, and back in Perfuma's clutches. How can she persuade Perfuma that she wasn't lying before?

Entrapta peered at the chip. “This is marvelous, well-preserved, but you said there were two?”

“Yeah,” Scorpia admitted, rubbing the back of her neck with her claw, “There was another signal a little bit away, but I didn’t have time to grab it.”

Entrapta hummed. She had not looked at Scorpia the entire conversation, absorbed as she was in poking and prodding the chip. Scorpia was used to that, though. Entrapta had her own ways of showing love. Last week she had programmed a box to sing a little tune when opened, where Scorpia could store her jewelry. Gifts were a wonderful expression of love! Still, Scorpia liked eye contact. She liked conversations that could be about something other than technology. Like talking about emotions, doubts, fears.

Like talking with Perfuma.

Scorpia clung to the conversation she could remember. Perfuma was pretty, expressive, and social. As much as Scorpia adored Entrapta and Catra, it was refreshing to talk with someone who was able to actually keep up a conversation about something other than robots or evil plots. Someone who paid attention to her, and touched-

Scorpia could feel her face flush at the memory. She didn’t advertise the fact that her tail was so sensitive. It was usually fine, since she didn’t experience the same stuff if she controlled what the tail touched. Pricking people, deliberately brushing it against things, or handling it with her claws didn’t affect her. Not in the same way as someone else giving it stimuli she couldn’t predict. Kind of like tickling. When that happened, the experience was-

“Scorpia? Are you still there?” Entrapta’s voice cut through her thoughts. Entrapta had connected the disc to one of her machines, and a rapid sequence of data and text passed on the screen, indecipherable to Scorpia.

“Whoops, yeah, sorry, I was daydreaming. What did you say?”

“Can you check out the other one? It seems like this has some sort of encryption thing going on. It’s just a hunch, but maybe they kept the key somewhere nearby.”

“Sure! I’ve got some things to do here, but after tomorrow, I’ll have some time to investigate!”

 

 

Scorpia was, once again, in Plumeria. This time, she tried to tread more softly. She ended up having more work than she anticipated today, so her journey was delayed. Now darkness was fast approaching. However, she had told Entrapta she would get the tech today, so she would do her best!

Despite her best attempts, a root seemed to appear from nowhere, raising out of the ground to trip her. “Ow,” Scorpia exclaimed out loud.

As if responding to her voice, dozens of other roots burst from the ground and wrapped her arms. Then legs. Then-

She braced herself for the tail. Fortunately the roots moved fast, and once they were in place they did not shift. She breathed a sigh of relief, then looked around. “Perfuma? Is this you?”

Perfuma did not respond verbally. Instead, she rolled out from the shadows of the trees, riding a wave of vines. Her arms were crossed and lips pursed, staring down at Scorpia.

Scorpia smiled at the sight. Perfuma  _was_ scary. Those vines, big and crawling, could destroy anything in its path. And she stood flawlessly on top, perfectly balanced. “How are you?” Scorpia asked with cheer.

Perfuma huffed. “How  _am_ I? You don’t get to ask that after stabbing me.”

“Non-lethally. Honestly, my toxins don’t have any lasting effects. It’s much safer than trying to knock someone out by, like, hitting them in the head.”

Perfuma turned away, letting her gorgeous hair bounce. “Doesn’t change the fact that you lied to me.”

“Just to be clear, I didn’t lie at any point in our conversation.”

Perfuma turned back and narrowed her eyes. “Oh yeah? Even when you...” Perfuma paused, probably trying to think through their interaction. “What about when you said I was tough?”

“No lie,” Scopria assured her.

This caused Perfuma’s expression to flicker, before returning to annoyance. “What about your nose itching?”

“Honestly it did itch. I just took the opportunity to get back home.”

Perfuma snorted. “You call the Horde ‘Home’?”

Scorpia raised an eyebrow. “Um, yes? Where else would I call home?”

“Aren’t you a princess? You have a kingdom.”

“Which was given to the horde. I’m not really treated different from any Horde recruit, I had to work my way through cadet trainings to get to Force Captain, just like everyone else. The ‘princess’ thing is more of a weird family fact than anything else.”

Perfuma looked her up and down. Scorpia wished she could have posed a bit more nicely. She then had the idle thought that maybe she should have put on lipstick. Perfuma was a pretty princess. With her long dress and elaborate hair, she seemed like she made an effort to look nice every day. Scorpia liked that, and wished she could be that way too. She had her own stash of jewelry, some cute clothes, but no opportunities to wear them. Her Horde uniform was mandatory. But she could have at least put on some lipstick. Perfuma tilted her chin up. “You’re still a princess though. You can be proud.”

“...Thanks?” Scorpia wasn’t quite sure what Perfuma was trying to do, but the voice sounded as though it was a comfort attempt.

“But...” Perfuma shook her head, “I won’t get distracted this time. You lied to me.”

“I can guarantee I didn’t lie to you!” Scorpia exclaimed. This was no good, Scorpia didn’t mean to make Perfuma distrust her, not so early on in their friendship.

“Did you make up that tail thing too?” Perfuma quizzed her, vines wrapping tighter, “So I would loosen it enough for you to sting?”

The roots sliding against Scopria’s tail were… a lot. They enveloped most of her tail, giving full contact and stimulation. Scorpia’s heart sped up, and a tightness began to build below her stomach. “N-no,” Scorpia was surprised to hear her own stutter, “I swear it’s sensitive.”

“How do I know that’s the truth?”

Scorpia opened her mouth to counter Perfuma’s point, but a sudden sliding of the roots caused her to gasp instead. They were repositioning around her tail, continuously stroking it, causing a tingle to run up her whole spine. Scorpia looked up at Perfuma, and saw Perfuma staring down in concentration, judging Scorpia’s every expression. That gaze was enough to send a flush up Scorpia’s neck, she could feel the heat rise all the way up to her ears. The roots shifted again, leaving Scorpia breathing heavily. Her blood was pumping so hard she could hear her own heartbeat.

Suddenly, the roots released, leaving only two or three to tightly hug her tail without moving. Scorpia focused back on Perfuma, and was surprised to see Perfuma sported a blush of her own.

Perfuma turned away, hiding her face.

“That… was a convincing reaction. I’m going to believe even you can’t act well enough to have faked that.” Perfuma still did not look at Scorpia.

“So maybe I wasn’t lying about the other things either?” Scorpia offered.

This cause Perfuma to look back with furrowed eyebrows. “Maybe you didn’t explicitly lie, but I have plenty of questions.”

“Does this mean going back to your grove again?” Scorpia asked, her pitch raising in excitement.

“...Yes.”

 

 

Perfuma mentally slapped herself.  _Don’t think a Horde soldier is hot when she’s restrained and at your mercy. Don’t take pleasure in seeing her gasp at your touch. Don’t even think about what you could do if-_

“Weren’t those flowers open a few days ago?” Scorpia asked, tilting her chin at some crocuses.

Perfuma shrugged, “Well, it’s nighttime, so they’re closed.”

Scorpia gaped. “Flowers close at night?”

Perfuma stared at her. “Did you not know this? It’s not every flower, but a lot of them do. What do they teach you in the Horde?”

“Fighting. Tactics. Defense. There’s not much nature in the Fright Zone. I’ve made my own flowers though! Out of paper, based on some earrings my parents left me.”

“Earrings?” Perfuma asked. Every time she heard about Scorpia’s origins, it was surprising how cheerfully Scorpia could describe her background.

“Yeah, some nice rose earrings. I’ve never seen one in person though.”

Perfuma could barely wrap her head around the thought. Never having seen a rose? No wonder Horde soldiers were so heartless. Maybe, if Perfuma could show Scorpia the beauty of the world she was ordered to destroy… Did Perfuma dare to hope? That she could persuade Scorpia to reconsider her allegiances? Scorpia was a princess, even if the Horde tried to take that away from her too. She could become part of the princess alliance, if Perfuma could just… “Do you want to see one?”

“A rose?” Scorpia’s eyes lit up, “Do you have one?”

Perfuma opened her palm and created a red rose. She held it up from Scorpia to see.

Scorpia gaped at the flower, eyes wide in childlike wonder. “It’s gorgeous.” Then she giggled, an adorable sound. “Bigger than I thought it would be.”

Perfuma laughed at that. “How big did you think it would be?”

“I dunno, like the size of my pinkie nail? My earrings are pretty small.”

“Do you want to take it home?” Perfuma asked.

“Are you letting me go?” Scorpia stared at her.

Perfuma hated the stare. How could someone so evil have such pretty eyes? It felt wrong to be hostile to someone who seemed so genuine. “Only if you promise not to stab me again.”

“With you letting me free, I have no reason to.”

Perfuma slowly loosened the roots, staying several feet away from Scorpia just in case. She carefully analyzed Scorpia’s movements for any sign of attack.

Scorpia called her out, “Are you making sure I don’t attack?”

“Why shouldn’t I?”

“I know better. You could have me trussed up again in a heartbeat, or worse. Anybody with an ounce of sense wouldn’t have the guts.”

Perfuma loved the praise, and hated that she loved it. She tried to tell herself it was no more than flattery, a technique to make Perfuma let down her guard. But Scorpia was not making any moves, aside from outstretching a claw to accept the rose. Perfuma stretched her own arm out, still tense in case of any hostile movement from Scorpia. But all she did was gently take the rose stem. “Careful of the thorns,” Perfuma warned her.

“Aww it has spikes, just like me.”

“It’s big and beautiful like you too.” The words came out of Perfuma’s mouth as a natural extension of comparison. Why shouldn’t she point out the similarities that existed if Scorpia was pointing them out already?

After seeing Scorpia freeze, though, she realized that might have been a bit much to say.

Perfuma forced out a laugh and changed the subject. “Anyway, shouldn’t you get home?”

Scorpia smiled at her. Perfuma decided that Scorpia had good harmony. “Yes, thank you. For letting me go, and for the rose, and for the compliment. I’ll treasure it.” Scorpia started to go, then turned back to say one last thing, “See you later.”

Before Perfuma could come up with some defense for her careless compliments, Scorpia scurried out into the woods. Leaving Perfuma a blushing mess in her grove.

The ‘See you later’ struck Perfuma. Scorpia was planning to come back.

And Perfuma wanted her to.


	3. Sleepover

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia fulfills her promise to visit Perfuma again.

It was an entire week until Scorpia returned.

Perfuma walked into her grove, reading some idly reading some parchment, when Scorpia spoke, “Welcome back!”

Instinctively, Perfuma shot a series of vines towards Scorpia’s voice. A quick glance showed Scorpia had been sitting next to a tree, hunched over a neighboring garden. She was quickly wrapped up.

Scorpia laughed and raised an eyebrow. “Are we doing this again?”

Perfuma took a breath. Scorpia could have hurt her several times in their past visits, but had not attempted to. Scorpia had given her no reason to distrust her… aside from the time she stabbed her. But even then, Scorpia left without further injuring Perfuma or seeming to do anything else. As crazy as it was, Scorpia seemed more interested in pure  _conversation_ over any sort of fighting.

Since thinking this over took some time, Scorpia continued, “Is this like, a kink of yours or something? Restraining people?”

“No,” Perfuma lied, simultaneously releasing the vines.

Scorpia strolled over to Pefuma, no hesitation.

Perfuma took a step back, raising the vines again, though not touching Scorpia. “If you try anything-”

Scorpia stopped and held her claws up. “No funny business, I swear. It’s just a bit hard to talk to you from all the way over there.”

“I’ll come to you,” Perfuma told her, taking some tentative steps forward.

Scorpia shrugged and sat down on a large root. Perfuma slowly came closer, eventually taking a seat beside her. She kept a close eye on the tail, but it did not move in preparation to strike. Perfuma thought about tying Scorpia up again. She could just keep her here, maybe bring her to the other Princesses. Then they could use her as a hostage to negotiate with the Horde…

She saw Scorpia smile at her. Blindly trusting. What business did a Horde soldier have, trusting a Princess like that? Perfuma wanted to strike her, to remind her what their places were. Where did Scorpia get the confidence to come back? Or more accurately, the foolishness? But here Perfuma sat, dumbly trusting  _Scorpia_ as well. Perfuma couldn’t bring herself to make the move to break the trust. So long as neither of them struck, they could stay in this strange impasse.

Of course it would be totally different if Scorpia seemed ready to attack or betray her, Perfuma comforted herself. She would not be an idiot. But so long as Scorpia didn’t break this delicate balancing act, Perfuma would not break it either. And maybe, if they stayed this way long enough, and Perfuma could show Scorpia another way to live outside the Horde…

“How are you?” Scorpia asked.

Perfuma raised an eyebrow. “You came all the way out here to ask that?”

“It’s not that far,” Scorpia assured her, “And it’s my day off, can’t I check in on my friend?”

Perfuma paused her breath. A friend? Is that how Scorpia saw them? Or worse, is that what they really were? “I’m… good. I was expecting you sooner, to be honest.”

“Did you think I lied about seeing you later?” Scorpia asked with a laugh.

“...You haven’t technically lied, yet.”

Scorpia grinned.

“And how have you been?” Perfuma asked.

“Alright. Better now that I’m here.”

Perfuma could work with that. “What? You like it here better than in the Horde?”

“It’s… prettier,” Scorpia looked around, eventually gesturing to the garden she had been looking at when Perfuma entered, “What kinds of flowers are those?”

Scorpia was a curious woman, it turned out. She wanted to learn all of the flowers in the grove. Perfuma happily described every flower, and Scorpia was delighted to hear every detail about them.

 

 

Scorpia could listen to Perfuma all day.

She had a gentle voice. Energetic, for sure, but undeniably gentle. And her occasional, “Is this too much detail? I’m not boring you, am I?” Made Scorpia feel cared for. Of course Scorpia could listen to someone rant for hours, she had proven that well enough by being friends with Entrapta. But someone who asked, who checked in on her, and made sure she was okay, made her feel like Perfuma was really paying attention to her. Scorpia always assured her that it was okay, and she was still interested, but it felt good to have someone making sure she was still happy.

It was terribly considerate.

After flowers, the conversation veered to places Scorpia didn’t want it to.

“So why were you hanging around Plumeria in the first place, anyway?” Perfuma asked her.

Scorpia drew a sharp breath. “As I’ve said before, I don’t intend to lie to you. And because of that, I’m going to truthfully tell you that I don’t think I should tell you.”

Perfuma huffed. “What, so I should just let you creep around my territory? Doing Horde business?”

“It is, technically, Horde business I guess.”

“What?” Perfuma’s voice was getting less gentle, “Like poisoning plants again?”

“No!” Scorpia exclaimed, “Nothing that poses an immediate danger to you or your citizens. More like...” Scorpia struggled to articulate it without giving too much information away. So far, aside from She-ra, the Rebellion did not seem clued in to the fact that Old One’s tech could be utilized for war. Scorpia could bond with anyone, but she couldn’t betray her faction over a friendship. She had friends in the Horde as well, who she needed to protect.

“Like what?” Perfuma asked, voice going cold as she stood.

Scorpia tilted her face away from Perfuma. “Not much, really! It’s stuff you probably wouldn’t care about. It’s not super important or anything-”

A single vine pressed against Scorpia’s cheek, pushing her to look Perfuma in the eye. “Scorpia.”

“Yes?” Scorpia’s voice was quieter than she intended. Her face might have been redder than intended as well.

Perfuma stared, and neither of them broke eye contact. Scorpia knew Perfuma could crush her in an instant, but she had to rely on her trust and friendship to keep her safe. Perfuma did not say anything; it seemed as though she had lost her train of thought, and could not get back to the station.

Scorpia decided to try and reason with her. “You wouldn’t tell me if the Princesses were planning to attack the Horde, would you?”

A strange dance of emotions crossed Perfuma’s face. Eventually, she sighed. “You swear it’s not endangering me or Plumeria?”

“Yes!” Scorpia exclaimed, relieved to see Perfuma starting to soften again.

Perfuma took a seat again. “Sorry to ask about the Horde like that. I think maybe… maybe we should  _not_ talk about our factions.”

“Or at least the strategic plans of our factions.”

“Yes,” Perfuma agreed.

“That sounds good.”

They simmered on that point for a moment. Scorpia would be careful not to pry into Princess plans.

Perfuma kindly changed the subject. “You don’t have to tell me Horde plans, but what is like, growing up there?”

“What do you mean?”

“Like… Bow told me you guys don’t have birthdays?”

Scorpia laughed, “No, they’re wasteful. Too much focus on the individual and all that.”

“What else is different?”

“Different from you, you mean?”

“Yes.” Perfuma gave a weak smile, “Sorry I phrased it like that.”

“I don’t know, exactly… I don’t know much about your childhood.” Scorpia leaned in, and noted that Perfuma did not move away. “What was it like growing up in Plumeria? Then we can compare notes.”

Perfuma smiled, a pretty sight. “Well, alright.”

 

 

Darkness fell. And under the darkness, their histories and feelings spilled. Sleepiness crept up on them, but shared emotions kept each other awake. They spoke and listened like they rarely had with anyone before. And when Perfuma said she was tired enough to lie down, Scorpia asked to join her. They laid themselves down a mere foot away from each other, in a bed of moss. And although they kept speaking, their words and thoughts began to slow. And eventually, both began to think a nap would be nice. They would just rest their eyes, and then they could separate. Just a quick little nap…

 

 

“Perfuma? Are you awake?”

Bow’s distant voice caused Perfuma to stir in her bed. She realized there was warmth in front of her. She was buried in something, that had shielded the suns rays from her eyes. She groggily pulled back, met with the resistance of something large keeping her close. However, she was able to pull back enough to see Scorpia’s sleeping face.

Bow’s voice rang out again, “I’m coming into your grove!”

Perfuma squeaked and pushed Scorpia away. When had they started cuddling? Why was Scorpia still here in the morning? Perfuma shook her head, she didn’t have time to think about this, Bow couldn’t see Scorpia.

Scorpia’s eyes started to open, and when she saw Perfuma a smile broke out on her face. Perfuma wanted to shout at her, but with no time she used her magic to pull a bed of moss over Scorpia, and then pulled her away from the grove, to hide behind a tree.

Scorpia’s voice still carried, though,  “Perfuma? What are you-”

Bow entered the grove. Perfuma slapped some vines over Scorpia’s mouth, being careful not to cover the nose so she could still breath. “Hi Bow!” Perfuma exclaimed loudly to overlap with the vines movement.

“Hey Perfuma, where have you been? Aren’t you usually out and about by now? Your aides say you haven’t been seen all morning.”

“Oh I just had an, uh,” Perfuma yawned, not acting at all, “I ended up having a late night.”

“You and me both, girl,” Bow took a seat. He wasn’t going to stay long, was he? Perfuma had to let Scorpia go at some point.

Actually, what if the Horde thought Scorpia had been kidnapped? Scorpia said she had the day off yesterday, but she also described the Horde as work-heavy. There’s no way they would give Scorpia two days off in a row without good reason. What would they do if Scorpia didn’t report for duty in time?

“Glimmer and I have been a planning a party, and I wanted to personally invite you!”

“Personally?” Perfuma laughed, only slightly nervous, “Oh Bow, you could have just sent me a letter!”  
Bow shook his head, “No can do. Because while Glimmer and I were talking, we realized we haven’t heard from you in a while! How have you been doing?”

“I’ve been great, but very busy! Very, very busy! So busy.”

“Really?” Bow frowned, “Anything we could help you with?”

Perfuma shook her head, “No, some stuff only I can do. So maybe we can catch up later?”

Bow sighed. “But Glimmer, Adora and I are planning to investigate some strange things down South tomorrow. We’ll be traveling for awhile, then as soon as we get back we’ll be preparing for the party, so that means we won’t be able to see you for ages. Are you sure you can’t make a little time?”

Perfuma grimaced, “Er, um...”

“I just wanna know how things are going, you can’t spare a moment?”

Perfuma thought fast, “You guys are leaving tomorrow? How about I join you then?”

“Really?” Bow jumped up, “Are you sure? Considering how busy you are?”

Perfuma forced a smile. “Nothing I can’t fix up with a days worth hard work. But I’ll have to get started now! How about you head on back to Bright Moon, I’ll meet you guys there bright and early tomorrow, and then we can chat the whole mission?”

Bow squeezed her with a hug. “I. Love. This. Plan!” He hopped back and gave her finger guns. “So I’ll see you tomorrow?”  
She returned his finger guns, “Yeah, just go on, I gotta get started on all this… work.”

“Alright, bye!” Bow exited, practically skipping.

“Bye,” Perfuma returned, waving.

She waited a minute, making sure he wouldn’t return with some last minute note. When it seemed he was far away enough, she walked around the tree Scorpia was hidden behind, and removed the vines over her mouth.

Scorpia spoke immediately, “Sorry I lost track of time, and thought I would just rest for a moment...”

Perfuma lifted the moss off of her, freeing Scorpia’s limbs, and Scorpia stood up, “I also fell asleep, don’t worry about it. You just focus on getting back to the Horde before they freak out about your absence.”

Scorpia smiled. She pulled Perfuma into a hug. Perfuma silently gasped, her heart racing at the contact. If she did not count the nocturnal cuddling, this was the first time she had directly touched Scorpia. This hug felt very different from her hug with Bow. She had hugged Bow dozens of times, and never felt quite as… nervous? Excited? Before pulling back, Scorpia gave Perfuma a kiss on the cheek. “Thanks for letting me stay, I’ll see you later.”

Scorpia ran out of the grove, hurrying back to the Horde.

Perfuma shook her head. That kiss on the cheek had maybe caused some traitorous thoughts. It was good Scorpia seemed to like Perfuma.  Exactly how she liked her, Perfuma wasn’t sure. And Perfuma did not dare to muse on whether she would prefer platonic or romantic. Either way, this could be a way to pull her to the Rebellion’s side. Perfuma just had to control her rapidly beating heart.


	4. Joyberry Juice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There's a strange disease down south, prompting people to investigate. Despite the dangerous disease, it's the Berry festival and people are celebrating. Perfuma ends up drinking a lot of something called "joyberry juice", and wandering off into the woods alone. And of course she ends up encountering exactly who she was missing.

Scorpia looked over the edge of the skiff. “Ooh, look at those trees! These are different than the trees near the Fright Zone!”

Catra sighed. “That’s because we are not right outside the Fright Zone. Breaking news- scenery changes when you go South.”

Scorpia ruminated on their direction. Although it had been hard to hear Perfuma and Bow’s conversation, they had also mentioned something about going down South. Maybe Scorpia would see her there?

Though hopefully they were not investigating the same thing. An agent reported animals in a specific area were infected by a disease that caused them to rampage. If this transmitted to people, then there was an opportunity to wage some disease warfare.

But Perfuma and Bow had not specified what they were investigating… What were the chances they were looking at the same thing?

 

 

Two days travel and they finally arrived at the village that had sent a bird to Bright Moon seeking assistance. Azusa, a village elder, greeted them and explained the situation. “Little Billy got bit by an antelope three days ago, and he’s been raving mad since. We’ve tied him down, so he doesn’t hurt anyone else, but it’s been a challenge to get him to eat and drink. There’s also been  violent  animals that occasionally run through the town square, and whenever that happens, we have to barricade ourselves in our houses until they move on. We don’t want anyone else turning out like Little Billy.”

“How long does it take for the disease to run its course?” Glimmer asked.

Azusa sighed. “Observations of animals seem to indicate it never ‘runs its course’. It just keeps going until the animal dies. That’s why we’re a little desperate, we want to get Little Billy better before he...”

“We understand,” Glimmer assured her, “We will do our best to investigate this matter.”

The four of them then gathered, away from Azusa.

“I’m so glad you came with us, Perfuma!” Bow exclaimed.

Perfuma smiled. “Why’s that?”  
“Well you know plants and stuff? And medicinal stuff? So maybe you can figure out an antidote to this disease!”  
Perfuma grimaced. “Well, there’s knowing plants… And then there’s knowing medicine.”

Glimmer huffed. “So you wouldn’t happen to know what would cure rampaging animals?”

“Well I can brew some calming teas,” Perfuma offered, “But I’m definitely not a medical expert.”

“Greaaaat,” Glimmer moaned.

Adora jumped into the conversation, “I’m sure we can find a way! Maybe I’ll finally figure out She-ra’s healing powers.”

Bow physically cringed, but Adora did not catch the movement. Perfuma recalled that Adora had helped Plumeria when it got sick… but only by destroying Horde stuff, not by curing any disease.

Well, if there was anything that could be punched better, Perfuma was sure the four of them could do it. Otherwise, Perfuma did not have every confidence in them.

 

 

A day’s worth of investigation yielded nothing towards a cure. It seemed the disease had been spreading mostly through antelope, though some other animals they came into contact with were also affected. Biting seemed to be the way it usually spread, and once a creature was infected  it  stayed infected.

Despite their lack of results, the village invited them to an evening celebration. Apparently despite the disease concerns, the village would not postpone their Berry Festival. They even gave the four visitors a special place at the great dinner table. 

There was not a shortage of food here. The tables were practically bending under the weight of the meals. Perfuma dug into the hearty food with gust, it was all delicious. She drank a strange blue liquid they gave as well. When she asked someone, they had called it ‘joyberry juice’. It was sweet, though pungent. And whenever her glass started to empty, men with large jugs would fill it back up to the brim. 

As the night wore on, the conversation seemed to become more and more interesting. And funny. In fact, it was hard not to laugh at a lot of the things people said. And Perfuma felt like it was getting harder and harder to think. Some music started playing, but when she got up to dance she kept stumbling. The world seemed like it was spinning.

Maybe she should have asked why it was called joyberry juice.

Deciding dancing would probably look foolish in this state, she decided to go off into the woods. The woods were nice. The plants here were different, maybe she could see some interesting plants. And the plants would not judge her if she kept tripping and falling. She stumbled her way into the woods, but was unsure for how long she walked. There were glow flowers that helped illuminate the path, but despite that Perfuma felt lost. Where had she come from again?

She leaned against a tree to catch her bearings. Wow, that was cool feeling bark. She stroked it with her hands. What a nice texture. Maybe she could sleep out here with the bark.

A crackling noise behind her caused her to slowly turn around. There was an antelope! So pretty! But why was it going towards her? Weren’t they usually afraid of people? Although the diseased ones…

Perfuma’s eyes widened. She swung an arm out, trying to raise some vines, but they raised decidedly behind the antelope, easily missing it. She backed up against the tree and tried again, this time too far to the left. It was hard to aim when she was seeing everything double. Closer now, she could see the antelope drooling and vicious. Her head pounded.

“Perfuma!” Now she was hallucinating Scorpia’s voice.

Both an auditory and visual hallucination, it seemed. Scorpia ran towards the antelope, and took it out with a sting. The creature collapsed.

Scorpia did not hang over it. She instead rushed to Perfuma’s side. “Are you okay?”

Perfuma took a step forward and fell into Scorpia’s arms. Wow, it was a hallucination she could touch as well. “I hadshomething,” Perfuma slurred.

“It didn’t bite you, did it?” Scorpia asked, scooping Perfuma up into her arms.

Perfuma curled into Scorpia’s embrace. “Naaaaaw, it was just…” Perfuma struggled to find the words, “it was tryna get me, and I was tryna get it, but the world is so dizzy...”

“You’re not making sense,” Scorpia stared down in concern, “What happened to you?”  
Perfuma stared up at her. It would be okay to touch a hallucination’s hair, right? Scorpia didn’t need to know how much Perfuma wanted to touch her, but there was no way this was real. Perfuma reached up her arm and ran her fingers through Scorpia’s hair. “It’s so soft.”

Scorpia started to redden.

“So cute,” Perfuma labeled automatically.

“W-what’s gotten into you?” Scorpia stuttered.

Was this really a hallucination? It seemed strangely solid. Well, either way, it was very important that Perfuma talk to Scorpia right now, while she was thinking about how cute Scorpia was. Who cared about factions? They could work it out. “You like me,” Perfuma told her.

“Um.” Scorpia looked away. “Well. Um. You see-”

Perfuma tugged Scorpia down to give her a kiss.

 

 

Scorpia realized her lips were against Perfuma’s.

She closed her eyes. Whatever was causing this, Scorpia would have to be insane to not accept such a blessing. Perfuma’s lips tasted sweet, Scorpia wondered if that was lipstick or something she ate. Perfuma’s arms wrapped around Scorpia’s neck, tangling into her hair. Scorpia leaned into it, pulling Perfuma even closer and allowing their bodies to touch.

Eventually, they drew back for breath.

Scorpia looked into Perfuma’s eyes. Lidded, lustful, and… Like something had been altered. Scorpia forced herself to put Perfuma down. Perfuma leaned towards her again, attempting another kiss, but Scorpia pushed her back. “Wait, before we continue, what’s going on with you? Did you have something?”

“I think… joyberry juice may be a joyish-making berry.”

“Joyberry juice?” Scorpia raised an eyebrow, “What is-”

“Shhhhh,” Perfuma pressed a finger against Scorpia’s lips before leaning in closer for another kiss.

Scorpia grabbed Perfuma’s wrists, “Wait, we can’t do this.”

Perfuma pouted. “Why? You like me, I like you.”

Scorpia felt a heat course through her upon hearing confirmation that Perfuma did, indeed, like her. But things couldn’t be that simple. “I’m a Horde Force Captain, you’re a Rebellion Princess. There’s definitely some conflict of interest.”

“Then why have you been visiting me all this time? You’re the one who started this!”

Scorpia looked away. “Look, I thought we were just going to be friends. I have friends in the Horde, too, and I thought just one Rebellion friend wouldn’t cause me to like, change sides, but a lover? That’s… that’s unbalanced.”

“Change sides,” Perfuma whispered.

Scorpia caught her breath. Could it be that simple?

She thought of Catra. And Entrapta. And all the people who helped raise her and make her who she was today.

“I can’t risk it.” And it was true. Scorpia knew if she started something with Perfuma, she would be challenged every day to choose between her lover and her home. And how could she make that decision? Worse, Scorpia had the creeping suspicion that if she started this, no matter how much she tried to stay away, Perfuma would keep bringing her closer to the Rebellion side.

Perfuma cooed at her. “Come on, don’t make it sho complicated. We’re here, nobody else, just… just  touch me.” Perfuma took a step towards her.

Scorpia took a step back, letting go of Perfuma’s arms. “If I choose to stay with you now, I’d be betraying the Horde. I… I can’t do that, I just can’t.”

But that did not stop Perfuma. She kept approaching Scorpia until Scorpia’s back was against a tree. A devilish smirk came over her face. “So if it’s not your choice, it’s not a betrayal?”

Scorpia did not understand. “I… guess?”

Some vines tugged Scorpia’s claws, pulling them up over her head. An experimental pull made Scorpia realize she was fully pinned against the tree, unable to escape. “What are you-?”  
Perfuma loomed over her, on a platform of plants, and bent down to give her a quick kiss. “It’s not your choice now, it’s mine.”

Scorpia’s bonds were quite secure. She literally could not leave if she wanted to. Her head (and heart) raced. She could, theoretically, beg Perfuma to let her go. Perfuma was clearly in a strange state, it probably wouldn’t be too hard. And even Perfuma would have to take a step back if Scorpia screamed or showed significant distress. And yet, despite these schemes seeming plausible, they also seemed… very undesirable. Enough so that all Scorpia could muster in response to Perfuma’s daring threat was a breathless, “...Okay.”

In response, Perfuma descended upon her, kissing first her lips, then venturing to the neck. One hand buried itself in Scorpia’s hair, as though petting her. The other hand slid down her side, until eventually stroking the base of her tail. The touch caused Scorpia to gasp. The gasp caused Perfuma to stroke it more, forcing a tingle through Scorpia’s belly.

“Please-” Scorpia begged, unsure what exactly she was begging for.

She did not have to articulate. Perfuma smothered her lips with another kiss, hands still running along her tail. If the tail had not also been pinned to the tree, Scorpia might have raised it to make it more accessible.

Snapping twigs nearby caused Scorpia to flinch. At Scorpia’s movement, Perfuma pulled back. “What?” Perfuma asked.

“Did you hear that?” Scorpia asked, glancing around for the source.

Perfuma took a step back, and some movement came into Scorpia’s view. The antelope.

“Perfuma, you have to let me go, it’s the sick antelope.”

But the antelope was frozen. It stood, staring at the two of them with wide eyes. Perfuma squinted. “Nooooo I think that’s a different one. It doesn’t look sick.” Nonetheless, Perfuma loosened the vines so Scorpia could stand in a defensive position.

Although Scorpia was certain it was the same one, she also agreed it didn’t look so sick anymore. “Maybe it got better?”

Perfuma snorted. “Nobody has ever gotten better from the disease.”

“Well it’s standing where I paralyzed the sick one, so unless the sick one disappeared and a healthy one took its place...”

Perfuma clutched her stomach. “I feel sick.”

Scorpia grabbed her shoulders. “Like, ‘rampaging’ sick? Or-”

Answering the question, Perfuma threw up onto the ground. This triggered the antelope to sprint away, galloping in a healthy, fearful manner. Scorpia noted that whatever Perfuma ate earlier, a lot of it was coming up blue. Scorpia pulled back Perfuma’s hair as Perfuma threw up again.

“Whatever you had, it seems like you had too much.”

“I felt so great, but now I’m all-” Perfuma threw up a third time.

Scorpia held onto her as she stayed doubled over for a minute.

Eventually Perfuma spoke again. “I feel a lot better now.”

“Really?” Scorpia raised an eyebrow.

“Well, better than before. I don’t think I’m gonna throw up again,” Perfuma clarified, “I have a killer headache though.”

“We should get you to bed,” Scorpia decided, “Where did you come from?”

“I don’t know, I just sort of followed the glow flowers… then I found a really nice tree… Then you showed up...”

Scorpia took a breath. “Okay, so we’ll follow these glow flowers until I can find somewhere near people to drop you off.”

“Okaaaaay,” Perfuma started to nod, then put a hand against her forehead.

Scorpia easily scooped Perfuma up into her arms again. Perfuma buried her face in Scorpia’s shoulder.

As they walked, Perfuma mumbled sleepily, “Sorry you had to see that.”

“No worries,” Scorpia assured her, “It’ll be a funny story in the morning, I’m sure.”

“Uuuugh, you’re so good,” Perfuma sighed, “So nice… so sweet… what an angel.”

Scorpia blushed. “You exaggerate.”

“An absolute angel.”

 

 

Perfuma woke up with a splitting headache. She was in a cot, with three unoccupied cots nearby. Sunlight was streaming in, all too bright, from a window on her left.

She cradled her head in her hands. What had happened last night?

Slowly, her head started working out the details. And she realized there was no way that Scorpia was a hallucination. And Pefuma had-

Perfuma blushed. She had done a lot of things.

And Scorpia had walked her home. She remembered being nudged awake, and told by Scorpia to walk forward to get into the village light. Perfuma had walked and encountered a villager, who immediately brought her to the house where Bow and the others were staying. As soon as her head hit a pillow she had fallen asleep.

Once vaguely aware of last night’s timeline, she rewinded back to the embarrassing things she had said and  _done_ to Scorpia. And how  _good_ it all felt. Was it the joyberry that made everything so electric? Or was Perfuma honestly just that into Scorpia? Pinning her to that tree had been terribly exciting. Forcing Scorpia into submission was everything Perfuma ever wanted. Along with touching that soft hair, her tail, watching her undone face… Now if only she could use that to bring Scorpia into the Rebellion-

Bow entered, interrupting Perfuma’s musings. “Bad news!” He glanced down. “Oh, good, you woke up.”

Perfuma rubbed her forehead. “Could you be a little quieter? That joyberry juice really did a number on me.”

“Enough that you disappeared for several hours. We have a lot of questions about that, by the way, but more importantly!” Unfortunately, Bow had only quieted by about a single decibel, “Someone else got bitten!”

This caused Perfuma to sit up straight, “What?”

“Yeah! Apparently Little Billy’s sister, Ari, tried to force-feed him this morning too closely. She thought he would die if he went any longer without food, so she tried to feed him with her hands. She wore some thick gloves to protect herself, but… it wasn’t enough.”

Perfuma groaned. “Is she secured?”  
Bow nodded. “She is, but now it’s even more important that we find a cure. And unfortunately, we have no leads so far.”

A strange thought tickled the back of Perfuma’s head. Hadn’t there been a sick antelope last night? But Scorpia had protected her. And then the antelope had gotten up, seemingly fine.

“Are you sure you don’t know even a little bit of medicine? Like some sort of rampage disease anti-serum?”

Scorpia’s venom. After the Antelope was injected, it became okay. Perfuma lifted a hand up. “Okay, firstly, I am a plant expert, not a medicine expert, but!” Perfuma took a breath. “I think I have a lead.”


	5. Perfuma Falls for it Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Knowing Scorpia's venom can cure the sick kids, Perfuma has no choice but to tell her allies and kidnap Scorpia. Kidnapping your lover feels a little complicated, though.

“That was a long walk last night,” Catra commented in the morning while they cooked breakfast over a campfire.

Scorpia shrugged, idly spinning her skewer of meat over the coals. “This place is just so interesting, you know? So many new plants.”

Catra snorted. “Since when are you so into nature?”

Scorpia forced herself to look as innocent as possible. Fortunately, Catra’s eyes were laser-focused on cooking her meat. “Also cool new animals! Just interested in everything new, you know.”

“I really  _don’t_ know,” Catra retorted, “But you do you.”

Catra’s support warmed Scorpia’s heart.

Once the two of them had eaten, Catra handed her some net capsules and told her the plan. “We’re gonna split up and take at least one of the animals back to the horde to analyze. Just toss this net capsule near them and then you can drag them back. Be careful though,” Catra’s voice went down to a conspiratorial whisper, “If you get bitten, you might be permanently infected, and I might leave you here.”

“No, I don’t think I will be,” Scorpia responded automatically, thinking about the antelope she encountered last night, “But thank you for your concern!”

Catra made one of her weird faces. With a groan, she shook her head. “Whatever. Just… use the communicator if you find anything. I’ll have mine on me as well. Do you remember how to use it?”

Scorpia nodded and brought out her communicator, pointing at the relevant buttons, “Sure! This is on and off, press and hold that button to talk to you, here’s the volume-”

“Good. You go West, I’ll go East.”

Catra marched away. Scorpia took a deep breath, and traveled West as commanded.

The nature around here  _was_ interesting. Although Scorpia was not telling Catra everything, she certainly had not lied. The trees went more vertical than Scorpia was used to, and even the snakes were different. Where home snakes were generally camouflaging textures of browns, pale yellows, and grays, here she could easily catch the bright red, blue, and black scales slithering along the forest floor. She also encountered plants and flowers Perfuma had never introduced her to.

She sighed aloud at the thought of Perfuma. What was she going to do?

Technically, Scorpia herself had not actually done anything other than have some conversations with Perfuma. And had an accidental sleepover. And cradled Perfuma in her arms. Scorpia supposed the kisses were notable, but all initiated by Peffuma, so Scorpia couldn’t take responsibility for those.

Technically, Scorpia had not betrayed the Horde. A little bit of friendship never hurt anyone. Isn’t that how Entrapta started, after all? Entrapta had been part of the Rebellion, and now she was an invaluable ally. Why couldn’t Perfuma defect and join the Horde too?

Scorpia hummed happily. Perfuma would be a powerful ally for the Horde. She could attack many enemies at once, and easily restrain them as well. Scorpia’s breath quickened at the thought of being tied up by those vines. She was embraced by something far beyond her power; the show of force was sometimes overwhelming.

The temperature was rather warm in this area. Scorpia fanned her face. She was more accustomed to the cold metal embrace of the Fright Zone, rather than the warm pockets of life in these woods. Scorpia bit her lip. If Perfuma joined the Horde, they would have to incorporate more plants into the Fright Zone. There wasn’t much soil there, though, it had all been paved over. The only plant Scorpia had seen there was the rose she had brought in. After Perfuma gave it to her, she kept it in a vase with the stem in water. Unfortunately, the petals had started dropping. In response, Scorpia had been pressing the petals in between the pages of her diary, and pressing it down under her mattress every night. Scorpia hoped she and Catra would get home before too many more petals fell.

“There she is!” A loud, vaguely familiar male voice shouted.

By instinct, Scorpia pulled out a taser and dropped into a fighting stance. Her eyes searched the woods for the source until she saw an archer boy. Bow. Beside him was the Bright Moon princess, Glimmer, who disappeared as soon as Scorpia saw her.

Anticipating her moves, Scorpia turned and caught Glimmer with her taser as she tried to do a teleported rear attack. She heard a whizzing sound from towards Bow, and leaned left to avoid an arrow. With Glimmer temporarily paused, Bow was her main threat. She bolted for him, raising the taser-

Familiar vines wrapped her from below. Scorpia was too surprised to struggle, and let the vines knock the taser out of her hands. Once subdued, Scorpia called out, “Perfuma?”

Perfuma stepped out from behind a tree. “I have her! Glimmer, are you okay?”

Bow rushed to Glimmer’s side and helped her up. Glimmer groaned. “Yeah, I’m fine.”

While they were occupied with each other, Scorpia stared at Perfuma for an explanation. Perfuma gave her a desperate smile and shrugged. When Bow and Glimmer looked back at them, Perfuma’s face transformed into a confident warlord.

“What’s this all about?” Scorpia asked.

“Ha! Wouldn’t you like to know!” Glimmer shouted.

“Perfuma saw you cure a sick antelope with your venom, so we’re kidnapping you to cure some kids,” Bow volunteered the information easily.

Scorpia narrowed her eyes at Perfuma. “She saw me, did she?”

Scorpia may have imagined it, but she thought she saw a trickle of sweat slide down Perfuma’s forehead. Perfuma coughed. “Yes! You must have been completely unaware, as I was completely silent hiding in the woods, and just happened to witness you stab a sick antelope. Once you left, the antelope got up, completely cured! And knowing that there were people suffering from the disease, I could not keep the information to myself.”

So that was the story they were going with. Scorpia sensed that last sentence was the closest thing she would get to an apology for now.

 

 

Perfuma was exhausted by the time they reached the village. Why couldn’t have Glimmer or Bow have brought along some ropes? Bringing her vines the whole way there was not the ideal use of her powers. She was much better suited to just keep someone still, not transport them.

She glanced at Scorpia. She wondered just how betrayed Scorpia would feel by this. Her face was serious, but not especially distraught. Perfuma felt guilt niggling at her, but she had to! She couldn’t stay in this village, knowing she was keeping a cure from them

Once they reached Little Billy and Ari, She-ra was relieved to see them. “Thank goodness you guys are back, I’ve been trying stuff, but it turns out… I still don’t know healing magic.”

The children were strapped down, still struggling against their bonds. Their mouths drooled as they snapped at anyone who got close.

Bow clapped his hands together. “Okay, so how are we going to do this?”

Glimmer cracked her knuckles. “Perfuma, loosen the vines around the tail, I’ll grab it and poke the kids with it.”

“No!” Perfuma responded automatically, thinking of Scorpia’s sensitivity. When Bow, She-ra, and Glimmer raised an eyebrow at her, she came up with an excuse, “It’s too dangerous. To be near the tail.”

Glimmer crossed her arms. “Do you have a better idea then?”

Perfuma brought Scorpia closer to the kids. “I’ll put her in a position close enough to get the kids, release only her tail, and she’ll stab them.”

“Why would she, though?” Bow asked, “We haven’t given her any reason-”

“Scorpia!” Perfuma addressed her, “If you inject these two kids, we’ll let you go!”

Scorpia smiled. “What a deal.”

Glimmer hissed, “What are you doing?”

Perfuma whispered back, “We need her to co-operate.”

“Or, crazy thought,” Glimmer put a hand on Perfuma’s shoulder, “We keep her as a hostage to the Horde. Give us an edge up. Tell Hordak he has to pull back his troops or Scorpia gets it.”

“No offense, Glimmer,” She-ra cut in, “But I don’t think the Horde cares as much about Scorpia as Bright Moon cares about you. To them, if you’re weak enough to get captured by the enemy, you deserve to die.”

Glimmer smirked. “What about Catra, though? Do you think Catra would just leave her friend without a fight?”

She-ra’s opened her mouth with an expression of indignation. Before she could speak, though, Bow put a hand on her shoulder. “Our first priority is to cure these kids. After that’s done, we can figure out exactly what we’ll do with her.”

“I guess,” Glimmer mumbled.

“Okay! Great! I guess we can just go with threats for now then!” Perfuma exclaimed while she started to loosen the vines around Scorpia’s tail. “No funny business, Scorpia, or I  _will_ choke you to death!”

Scorpia chuckled. “Sure.”

Once loosened, Scorpia’s tail waved a bit. Then, in two swift movements, she pricked the shoulders of the two struggling children. They immediately quieted, closing their eyes.

“Are we good?” Scorpia asked, “Can I like, go now?”

“Not until they wake up,” She-ra declared, “And we’re certain they’re cured.”

“I’ll take Scorpia away for now,” Perfuma volunteered, “You guys should bring in their families. If they’re okay, I’m sure the kids would want to see their parents first.”

The others agreed readily enough. Despite the energy strain, Perfuma thought it was worth it to pull Scorpia away. To an isolated place. Fortunately, the woods were right behind the building the sick kids were being kept. Perfuma tugged Scorpia through the trees until she couldn’t make out the conversations in the village.

Now in relative privacy, Perfuma was not sure where to begin. Apologies? Explanations? She took a deep breath. This was such bad karma.

“Maybe we should try choking,” Scorpia began, “A girl I knew in cadet training said it was kinda hot.”

“Scorpia!”

“You brought it up.”

“As a threat! Not one I would actually do, honestly. Not a-” Perfuma wasn’t used to talking to people about things like this, she wasn’t sure how to articulate it. “Not a ‘suggestion’ for us.”

Scorpia’s voice got quiet. “What is ‘us’?”

Perfuma took another deep, calming breath. “This is so complicated.”

“That’s not what you said last night.”

Perfuma’s face flushed at the memories. “I was drunk on joyberry juice.”

“So are you claiming all of that was a lie?” Scorpia had a furrow in her brow.

Perfuma took a step closer to Scorpia. “Of course not! It means I wasn’t thinking about the consequences when I...” Perfuma felt her voice weaken as she admitted out loud, “...kissed you.”

Scorpia’s voice was achingly gentle as she spoke, “What are your feelings? Right now, here in the daylight?”

Perfuma stared at Scorpia. Scorpia’s soft white hair, her kind eyes, her… was that lipstick on her lips? It looked good. She remembered their conversations, Scorpia’s gentle claws carrying her home, and the taste of her lips. Scorpia helpless against her embrace, gasping at her touch. But they had barely kissed. Perfuma was haunted by thoughts of what else could happen. She wanted to remove that Horde uniform, along with everything it stood for, and explore every inch. Her heart pumped at the thoughts racing through her head. “I want to be with you.” But there was no logical way to justify that with the Rebellion.

Scorpia let out a breath. “I do too, but the Horde-”

At Scorpia’s immediate admission, Perfuma decided to ignore logic. They both liked each other. There were a million things against them, so why shouldn’t they steal a few moment’s bliss where they could? She pulled Scorpia into a kiss.

Scorpia, despite claiming some concern about the Horde, easily acquiesced to Perfuma’s advances, returning the kiss with a desperate fervor. How long did it take the antelope to wake up from the venom-induced slumber? Perfuma felt confident the others would not leave the kids at least until they woke up. Surely it wouldn’t be too soon.

During a separation for breath, Scorpia whispered, “I wish I could embrace you.”

Perfuma loosened the vines around Scorpia. Though Scorpia widened her eyes, she took the opportunity to wrap her claws around Perfuma, and pulled her in for another kiss. The feeling of Scorpia’s arms around her were divine. Along with the wrap of a third limb-

A familiar prick in the back of her thigh. Her body went weak, but she caught Scorpia mouth “sorry” with a mischievous face as she collapsed.

Perfuma fell for it again


	6. Invitation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perfuma needs to persuade Scorpia to come to the Bright Moon party with her.

One week.

That’s how long it took for Perfuma to see Scorpia again.

Scorpia waltzed into her grove, as if it were the most normal thing in the world. “Are those new flowers? I love what you’ve done with the place.”

It took all of Perfuma’s self-control to not truss Scorpia up then and there. “Where have you been?” Perfuma chastised her, quickly approaching.

Scorpia raised her claws up in surrender. “Geez, you missed me that much?”

“We need to talk,” Perfuma told her.

Scorpia’s face fell. “About our relationship?”

Perfuma knew that would be the mature thing to do. But Perfuma was not going to be mature about this. No, there was something more urgent and fun to discuss. “About the Bright Moon party.”

Scorpia raised an eyebrow. “Party?”

“Yes,” Perfuma grabbed Scorpia’s arms in excitement, “Next weekend, Glimmer, Bow, and Adora are hosting some sort of sparkling extravaganza. And I get a plus-one.”

Scorpia took a step back, out of Perfuma’s arms. “Um, although I appreciate the invite, I don’t think I’ll be quite welcomed.”

Perfuma took a breath. She knew this would be hard when she first came up with the scheme, but she had to try. Getting Scorpia out of the Horde’s clutches meant showing her what life outside the Horde was like. With enough exposure, Scorpia would realize she would be happier on Perfuma’s side. Getting a cute date was a bonus on top of that. Perfuma put on her best pouting face. “But I really want you to be there.”

“I don’t have a great track record with parties,” Scorpia insisted, “The last one I went to, I blew up the venue.”

“Just promise you won’t blow up Bright Moon.”

Scorpia didn’t answer.

“Scorpia!”

“And that’s why I shouldn’t go,” Scorpia declared, “I can’t be trusted as a Horde soldier in enemy territory.”

“What if you weren’t a Horde soldier?” Perfuma planted the thought in her head.

Scorpia laughed. “You’re cute. But I’m not defecting just to attend a party… even with you.”

“Not defect: Disguise!” Perfuma told her.

Scorpia brought up her large claws. “These babies are a little hard to hide.”

Perfuma scurried to a small compartment hidden in the ground. “That’s why I prepared something special!”

Perfuma pulled out a jeweled vial. Scorpia stared at it with trepidation. “...What is that?”

“On our way back up here, the Rebellion stopped by an apothecary. I found this fabulous concoction way in the back, and realized it would be perfect for our purpose.”  
“Okay, cool story, love the sharing, love hearing about your day, but again: what is it?”

Perfuma gave her a devilish grin. “A shapeshifting potion.”

Scorpia stared.

Perfuma continued, “I boil in part of whoever or whatever we want you to look like, then you drink it, and for about 12 hours you have the same body as that person.”

“That must have been expensive,” Scorpia responded  evenly .

Perfuma put a hand on Scorpia’s shoulder. “I’ll take any expense to keep you by my side.”

Perfuma thought the line was cheesy, but it wasn’t wrong. And, judging by Scorpia’s reddening cheeks, was effective. She needed to persuade Scorpia in whatever way possible. Scorpia had a hesitant face, and opened her mouth as if to object.

To prevent the objection, Perfuma put a single finger against Scorpia’s lips. “Imagine: We disguise you as one of my citizens, I bring you as my date, make-out in a closet like a normal couple, party till dawn, and you go back to the Horde in the morning as the potion wears off.”

“A- a date?” Scorpia’s stutter was almost as adorable as her face.

The hope in Scorpia’s voice made Perfuma’s heart unfurl. “Of course,” She accented this response with a peck on the lips.

Scorpia’s gulp was audible to even Perfuma. “Well, but isn’t it-”

Recognizing the need for more ‘persuasion’, Perfuma began to pepper Scorpia’s neck with kisses.

“P-Perfuma?” Scorpia questioned, stance softening as Perfuma’s hands slithered around waist.

“Pretty please, darling?” Perfuma gave her an expression with lidded eyes.

Scorpia’s breath hitched.

Without a response, Perfuma decided to push further. She pried some fabric from the neck of Scorpia’s uniform, opening more of her bare skin to kiss. Her other hand slid to her rear, barely brushing it as she whispered, “Is it too much? To want to hold hands with you outside this grove?”

“No I guess that’s-” A hand sliding along Scorpia’s tail caused a pause in her speech, “-um- yeah, that’s reasonable.”

Perfuma drew back, looking Scorpia straight in the eye. “So you’ll come to the party?”

Scorpia responded as though in a daze, “Okay.”

Perfuma squealed and pulled Scorpia in for a long kiss. Scorpia happily reciprocated, even picking Perfuma up. Perfuma almost gasped at that, she was not used to being handled so easily. But she did not dare pull back from the kiss to comment.

It took them awhile to take a break, but when they did Scorpia said one last thing, “There’s just one thing I have to sort out.”

 

 

“I need a vacation in three days.”

Catra glanced up from filing her claws at Scorpia’s request. “What? Like a whole day?”

Scorpia scratched the back of her neck. “Well, not necessarily. Just more like that evening and the next morning.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “I know we have night missions and all, but that’s a weird amount of time to ask off.”

Scorpia laughed. “Well, you know me, I’ve always been a little… weird.” At the thought of her own oddity, Scorpia wondered what the other princesses would think  of her  at the party.

Well, assuming she could get the time off for the party. “Ugh, I  _hate_ to do this,” Catra drawled, “but actually there’s a mission, so there’s no way-”

“No!” Scorpia gasped at her own insubordination, then changed tactics, “I mean- Pretty please, Catra? Can’t you ask another captain? I really, really, need that night off.”

Catra  paused her filing. “Really? What’s so important?”

Scorpia opened her mouth. And closed her mouth. Lying was not her forte. “It’s a secret,” she decided to go with that excuse.

Catra sighed, focusing back on her claws. “Well, unfortunately, not knowing what it is, I just can’t justify taking you off the-”

“Okay, okay, fine! It’s a date!” Scorpia admitted.

Catra stopped filing her claws and turned to face Scorpia. Her eyes  were  wide. Then her mouth curled into a smirk. “Damn Scorpia, where do you find the time?”

“By asking you for vacation days,” Scorpia nervously clawed at her arm.

Catra laughed. “Alright, have fun, stay safe.”

“Does that mean you’ll get someone to replace me that night?”

“There wasn’t even a mission in the first place, dude.”

Scorpia gave a sigh of relief, knowing her vacation would not actually interfere with Horde plans. “Oh Catra, always one for a good prank.”

“So who is she?” Catra asked. Then, upon thinking, “...He?”

“She,” Scorpia confirmed.

“So who is she? Do I know her?”

Although Scorpia was thrilled that Catra was interested in her life for once, she wished Catra wasn’t so interested in this particular aspect. “Well, um, she’s a secret.”

Catra sighed. “Ooh, bad news, I think the mission’s back on, guess you’ll be working that night.”

“Catra!” Scorpia exclaimed.

Catra snickered. “Alright, alright. Keep your girlfriend a secret for now if you want. But let me meet her someday. If she caught your eye, I’m sure she’s a great gal.”

Scorpia had to smile at that. “Thanks Catra. Your support means the world to me.”

Catra rolled her eyes, but Scorpia pretended not to notice. “Just make sure you keep up with Horde business.”

Dating a Rebellion member was maybe not in the best interest of the Horde, but it was a bit late to think about that now. Scorpia decided to leave before  Catr a asked anything else. “Thanks for the time off, see you later!”

Catra was now fully re-engaged in filing her nails, but her tail twitched left and right. That was practically a hug in Catra-speak.

Scorpia escaped to her own room. She let out a breath. The logistics for the party were secured. All that was left was the party itself.

Being a princess, she had technically gone to some royal events before. But she was pretty accustomed to being turned away by the other princesses. She had tried to be bubbly, expressive, friendly, everything she wanted in a friend. But they all already had their own friends, their own cliques they wanted to keep her out of. Not to mention, as the Horde continued its spread, hatred towards the Horde-allied princess got pretty vehement. After one particularly virulent tea party which ended with Scorpia scalded with chamomile, Scorpia swore off anymore princess events. Scorpia hated to admit it, but blowing up Frosta’s kingdom with some of those princesses who had shunned her felt pretty good.

She groaned. This party was not going to be a revenge-explosion party. This had  _Perfuma_ . And nobody would know her connection with the Horde. She could socialize, gossip, maybe kiss Perfuma in public. She just had to imagine herself as someone completely new, only then could she stand by Perfuma’s side.


	7. Party: Part 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia, now transformed into 'Rose', joins Perfuma at a Bright Moon party. They get to flirt out in the open, and Scorpia even plays Truth or Dare for the first time! There's nothing that could ruin this night... or is there?

“Ready?” Perfuma asked Scorpia.

Scorpia nodded, staring at the vial in her hands. With one drink of this, Scorpia would become someone new.

“Just so you know, I purposefully chose someone tall so you would be more used to the point-of-view… but in reality I think she’s slightly shorter than you.”

Scorpia laughed. “I guess I’ll find out.”

With that, Scorpia downed the liquid.

The drink was thick, gross, and sour. Scorpia had to suppress a gag. Once she had drained the vial, she gave Perfuma the empty container. Perfuma put it down, but did not take her eyes off of Scorpia. Scorpia looked at her own claws, wondering when the potion would take effect. She didn’t feel any different yet. Hopefully it wasn’t some sort of absurdly slow potion, and she would change before the party.

A static feeling occurred at the tips of her toes. As if she had been sitting on a nerve there. “My feet-” Scorpia started before losing her balance.

Perfuma easily caught her. “Are you okay?” Perfuma asked.

Scorpia nodded. She felt warm, but she was pretty sure that wasn’t because of the drink. The fuzzy sensation was carrying up her legs now. She glanced down at them, and Perfuma followed her gaze. Her pants had loosened… Or rather, her legs had gotten smaller than her pants. Now the feeling ran up her torso, leaving her unable to breath for a few seconds.

“Scorpia?” Perfuma’s voice was pitched slightly higher than usual.

Her breath caught up with her, but now her arms and throat were covered in the sensation. On the bright side, she could feel her legs again. She smiled at Perfuma, trying to reassure her. Then her face was enveloped in the static, and her vision bubbled with darkness. She closed her eyes. When the feeling subsided, she opened her eyes again.

Perfuma stared at her, holding her breath.

Scorpia smiled. “How do I look?”

Perfuma let out a breath and hugged Scorpia. “It’s still you in there, right? You look totally different.”

“Force Captain Scorpia reporting for duty,” She responded.

Perfuma bit her lip. “We can’t introduce you like that. What should we call you like this?”

Scorpia smirked. “How about Rose?”

Perfuma laughed. “A good name.’

Scorpia stood up and looked down at herself. Her legs were smaller, as was most of her body. At this height, Perfuma looked taller than she had before. Only by a little, though. Scorpia stretched out her hands, and marveled at the sight of the fingers. Tiny and dexterous. She brought them close to her face and moved them altogether, then individually. Although they were much smaller than her claws, unfamiliarity with them made her feel clumsy.

Perfuma brought her own hand up to interlock with Scorpia’s. “How do you feel?” She asked.

“Good, a little weird,” Scorpia took some steps forward, and immediately stumbled.

Fortunately, Perfuma was more than ready to take Scorpia up in her arms. “Guess you need a little time to get used to new legs.”

Noting a tickle around her ears, Scorpia brought a hand up to her head. She ran her fingers through her hair, bringing some in front of her face. “Long and red.”

“I have a cute red dress I thought would match well,” Perfuma told her.

“I guess I should try it on, then. This disguise is pretty useless if I’m still in my uniform.”

 

 

Although Scorpia eventually could walk without tripping everywhere, she still locked arms with Perfuma for support. The two of them walked into the Bright Moon castle with barely a pause so Perfuma could show the guard her invitation. Once inside, Scorpia stared at the scene.

The large lights were off. Instead, various colors of lights rotated around the room. The edges of tables were lined with a glowing tape. In the center of the room, a mass of hard-to-distinguish bodies were dancing along to loud music.

“This music is really loud,” Perfuma beside her commented, barely audible above the din.

Scorpia nodded, not confident in her ability to shout above the noise.

She could feel the bass pulsing in her bones. Perfuma pulled her towards the edge of the dance floor. Following, Scorpia let Perfuma pull her into a dance. Scorpia tried to follow along with Perfuma’s dance steps, though it was a bit of a challenge with a body she had only had for about an hour. Fortunately, Perfuma was more than able to lead. At some points, for more complicated moves, Perfuma would simply lift Scorpia up to do the moves she wanted. Her hands easily grabbed Scorpia, and Scorpia was more than happy to be under her command.

Eventually, someone tapped Perfuma on the shoulder. “Hey, Perfuma!”

Perfuma put Scorpia down, but kept a hand around her waist. “Hey, Selena!”

“How are you doing!” Everything had to be shouted to be heard.

“Great! Having a lot of fun dancing! How about you!”

“Good! Who’s this?”

Perfuma tugged Scorpia even closer. “This is Rose, my date!”

Scorpia stretched her hand (with fingers!) out to shake Selena’s hand. “Hi! So nice to meet you!”

Selena shook her hand. “What did you say?”

Scorpia raised her voice, “I said: So nice to meet you!”

“Yeah, there’s some cute meat snacks on the table!” Selena responded.

Scorpia was certain Selena had misheard her again, but trying to correct again seemed like a fruitless endeavor. Instead, Scorpia gave her a wide smile, and was pleased to discover Selena smiling back.

Scorpia could do this! The people here were friendly and happy to meet someone new! She just had to put herself out there!

Scorpia put her mouth right by Perfuma’s ear. “I’m gonna check out those ‘cute meat snacks’, be right back!”

Perfuma nodded, and Scorpia made her way to the table. There was a _lot_ of snacks. And drinks. Well, mostly water and some sort of blue liquid. Curious, Scorpia poured herself a cup. The drink tasted sweet, but with a strange undercurrent. Nonetheless, everyone else seemed to be happy drinking it, so she poured a full cup and used it to wash down her snacks: Mini croissants, cheeses, grapes, and more.

She had rarely tasted such delicacies. The Horde kept her fed, for sure, but their focus was more on nutrition than taste. In her early years, when visiting other princesses, she had sometimes hoarded some of their food to take home and eat secretly in her bunk. Scorpia would do it again, but last time she did so she got caught by a queen. That queen had scolded her severely, reminding her that such ‘barbaric’ behavior was why she didn’t deserve to be a princess. Scorpia wouldn’t want to sully Perfuma’s reputation by being a barbarian at her party.

So she would just stuff herself silly now. It would all be in her belly, but she was going to bring as much home as possible. She chugged the blue drink in between big bites, refilling her glass a few times.

As she traveled to the end of a table to grab some chocolate-dipped strawberries, she struggled to stay completely upright. That was strange, she thought she had gotten the hang of this body. She slowed down so she wouldn’t fall over, but found the best solution was to lean a hand gently on the table, centering her balance. Scorpia put a hand up to her forehead. Maybe she should sit down.

“Scorpia! There you are!” Perfuma’s voice carried even over the ruckus.

Somehow Scorpia had gotten used to the noise, it felt like a nice heavy wave washing over her senses. The ocean was so pretty. Scorpia wondered if Perfuma visited it often. Maybe Scorpia could take her one day?

Perfuma came into Scorpia’s view, grabbing her arm gently. “Are you alright? You seem sort of-” Perfuma glanced down at the cup Scorpia held. “Oh no.”

Scorpia leaned on Perfuma. She was so supportive.

“How much Joyberry juice did you have?” Perfuma asked.

“I dunno, I haven’t been counting… at least five?”

Perfuma took the cup out of Scorpia’s hand and placed it on the table. “No more of that for you, it messes with your head. Let’s get you some water.”

“Water- we gotta visit the ocean! Do you like the ocean?”

Perfuma laughed at that. “The ocean? I guess, I haven’t gone much.” She handed Scorpia a new glass.

Scorpia tilted her head up to gulp the water down. Despite drinking so much juice, her throat reacted to the water as though parched. When she finished the glass she brought it down, only to see an unfamiliar hand on Perfuma’s shoulder. Scorpia narrowed her eyes by instinct, and grabbed Perfuma’s waist to tug her away.

Once closer, Scorpia could hear the stranger’s words: “Truth or dare upstairs.”

Perfuma squealed. She pulled out of Scorpia’s grasp, but slipped their hands together so she could lead Scorpia towards the stairs. “Let’s go!”

“What’s truth or dare?” Scorpia asked.

Perfuma gaped. “You’ve never played truth or dare?”

“No?”

Perfuma patted Scorpia’s shoulder. “It’s super fun. You’ll see.”

With Perfuma’s support, Scorpia made it upstairs in one piece. They were following another girl, someone short with green hair, into a room. The room was absolutely stuffed with pillows, including a bunch populating the floor. On some of the pillows were people, unfortunately some who Scorpia recognized. Glimmer, Adora, Mermista, Adora, and Bow. There was also Selena, the girl who had greeted Perfuma earlier. And the girl with the green hair who they followed in. Upon introductions, Scorpia learned her name was Emeralda. When it was Scorpia’s turn to introduce herself…

“I’m Scorp-”

Perfuma jabbed her with her elbow, causing Scorpia to cough. Her mind really was affected, if she was slipping up so easily.

“Sorry, um, I’m Rose.”

Fortunately, it seemed Scorpia may not have been the only person who dipped into the joyberry juice. Adora, the previously promising potential Horde Force Captain, was giggling and barely sitting up straight.

Scorpia found herself staring at Adora. She had been a favorite of Shadow Weaver’s, everyone knew it. She had every advantage at her disposal, and yet she had defected. It didn’t make sense to her.

“So! For the people who have never played this,” Glimmer started, staring pointedly at Adora, “Let me explain the rules: One person starts, and chooses someone to ask ‘Truth or Dare’. That person chooses either a truth, or a dare. If dare, the person who asked the question tells the person to do something. If truth, then the person who asked them gets to ask them another question, and they are _required_ to answer truthfully.”

Scorpia bit her lip. This might not be the ideal game in her situation.

“Another rule to keep things interesting: If truth or dare is done three times in a row, then the fourth person has to choose whatever was not repeated. I’ll start: Perfuma! Truth or dare?”

Perfuma smiled. “Give me a truth.”

Glimmer smirked. “So Rose is your plus-one, right? I’ve never met her before,” Scorpia’s heart started racing. Did Glimmer suspect something, “What exactly is your relationship to her?”

Perfuma giggled. “You don’t need a truth to ask that.” She grabbed Scorpia’s hand. “I asked her out as a date.”

The circle around them “Ooh”-d and “Aah”-d at the confession, and Scorpia could feel her face heating up. Her stomach was flipping, but in an exciting way. Perfuma and her had been hiding in the shadows so long, it felt nice to be holding hands in front of people, and letting them tease and celebrate. This sort of affirmation was not anything Scorpia had experienced before.

Now it was Perfuma’s turn. “Bow, truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Lift someone in this room up in the air for five seconds.”

Bow laughed. “Easy-peasy.”

He held out a hand to Emeralda, the smallest in the circle. She took his hand to stand up, and he wrapped her up in his arms to lift her up. He did not just lift her, but held her all the way above his head. The whole group counted down the five seconds, and he gently let Emeralda down.

“Now I choose Adora: Truth or dare?”

“Dare.”

“Turn into She-ra and let us all braid your hair.”

Scorpia laughed incredulously at the idea. Turn into a bio-weapon to mess with her hair?

Adora, however, easily transformed, and turned around so everyone could access her hair. She had a _lot_ , honestly. Scorpia stared at it, slightly dumbfounded. So fluffy and golden…

Everyone was crowding around to grab their own lock, so Scorpia followed behind Perfuma. Scorpia could not braid, but she carded her fingers through Perfuma’s section before Perfuma started braiding. With so many people on the case, they made fast work of it. The end result was peculiar, multiple braids of different sizes sticking out around She-ra’s head. Scorpia had to laugh at it, and everyone around her also found it equally funny. Scorpia liked this. How often had Catra, Entrapta, and she laughed together?

Her thoughts were turning into big downers, so she was happy to be distracted by Adora’s next words: “Selena, truth or dare?”

“I gotta do dare,” Selena responded.

“Take off your dress.”

Glimmer tried to hide a laugh behind her hand.

“Adora!” Bow chastised her.

“Glimmer told me that’s a classic,” Adora defended herself.

Selena laughed. “No worries, it’s about time this game spiced up a little.”

With almost no hesitation, Selena stripped her dress off. She wore a shift underneath, so she was not entirely bare, but the situation caused Scorpia to glance away.

“Rose, truth or dare?” Selena asked.

Scorpia had to take a moment to remember that she was Rose. Then she reminded herself that there were not a lot of truths she could give. So she decided: “Dare-”

“There were three dares in a row! That means this has to be a truth!” Glimmer shouted.

Scorpia grimaced. What would Selena ask now.

Selena smirked. “What are Perfuma’s kinks?”

Perfuma sputtered. “Selena!”

“Girl, I’m curious! Or is it so bad that we can’t know?”

“That’s private! What would you even do with that information?” Perfuma contested.

“Come on, Perfuma, it’s private, so that’s why it’s a truth!” Glimmer insisted.

Although Perfuma was embarrassed, Scorpia felt special to know such private information. And she felt like showing off how much better she knew Perfuma than anyone here. “She loves to tie me up.”

The whole circle gasped.

Perfuma turned to Scorpia. “Sco-” She coughed, “Rose!”

Bow laughed. “Damn, Perfuma, I didn’t know you had it in you.”

“She also likes to tease me,” Scorpia lips were very loose tonight, “She ties me up, threatens me, and makes me beg-”

Perfuma puts a hand over Scorpia’s mouth. “I think that’s more than enough information for this room!”

Selena snickered. “This is what truth or dare is really about.”

Perfuma leaned in towards Scorpia’s ear. Her breath tickled Scorpia’s ears. “...’Rose’, I’m gonna remove my hand from your mouth, and you will choose someone for truth or dare, and will not say _anything_ else about our private life. Understand?”

Perfuma’s voice was low, even, and serious. Scorpia felt a heat course through her belly, she imagined what would happen if she disobeyed. Perfuma might wrap her up in vines again. Tie her arms so she can’t embrace her, then steal kisses from-

“I said: ‘Understand’?”

Scorpia snapped out of her momentary fantasy to nod vigorously. There was no way she could disobey that voice. Once released, Scorpia spoke, “Adora, truth or dare?”

“Truth,” Adora decided.

“What made you leave the Horde?”

The room got quiet.

That was the wrong thing to say. Nobody was laughing anymore. The happy, floating mood that had enveloped the room was quickly fading into nervous glances. Scorpia hated it. No matter how hard she tried in social situations, something always seemed to go wrong. It was like she was in a play where everyone but her knew the lines. All she could do was keep on an innocent smile and hope for the best. She tried to claw at her arm nervously, only to remember that she had no claws. Fortunately, Bow spoke, “Damn, we’re digging deep tonight.”

This opened the way for others to talk, lessening the awkward vibe. “Yeah, you used to be a Horde soldier, right?” Selena commented.

Adora nodded. “I mean, I thought the Horde was great while I was in them… Then I met Glimmer, and Bow, and they showed me that stuff was… not like the Horde said. The Horde had been lying to me about a lot of stuff… All my life I’d been told I was fighting a noble battle, and then I found out we were the ‘Evil Horde’. That everything we were doing was hurting civilians and spreading destruction...”

People were quiet.

Adora laughed, then changed the mood. “Also, they don’t have parties.”

This lightened the room up. People were giggling again, and the game continued.

While Scorpia was not called upon, she mused on Adora’s words. She wasn’t blind, she had seen some questionable things during her time. But that wasn’t Scorpia’s job to question. Scorpia’s family had promised themselves to the Horde, she couldn’t just turn her back on her family’s decisions like that. Which side of the war one was on just came down to where one was born. That was what perplexed Scorpia so much about Adora’s situation. How had she made the decision to turn her back on everything she knew? To abandon her home?

“Rose?”

Scorpia jerked up, suddenly aware everyone was staring at her.

She realized what must have occurred. “Um, dare?”

Glimmer smirked. “Alright. I think you lovebirds need a break. You and Perfuma, in the closet, for 5 minutes. Do whatever, you want, but remember: If you’re too loud, we _can_ hear you.”

This perked Scorpia up. A lot could happen in 5 minutes. She practically jumped up. Only to almost fall, her balance still skewed from the joyberry juice. Fortunately, Perfuma caught her, and pulled her towards the closet. The people teased them as they made their way, and the attention made Scorpia grin from ear to ear.

“And no tying anyone up with the belts in there!” Glimmer warned them as she closed the door.

When the door closed, Perfuma sighed. “This is so embarrassing.”

“I thought you wanted to make out in a closet?”

“Well, yes,” Perfuma whispered, “But not with everyone aware that we’re in here, listening to our every move.”

Perfuma was shifting from foot to foot. Not even close to touching Scorpia. “Forget them, they don’t even know who I am.”

“But they know who _I_ am.”

Scorpia, getting impatient, pulled Perfuma towards her. “Come ooon~”

Perfuma allowed Scorpia to pull her in for a kiss. Scorpia hummed, pleased at the contact, until Perfuma pushed her back. “You are not allowed to make a sound.”

Scorpia’s breath quickened at Perfuma’s stern voice. “You keep teasing me though.”

Perfuma pressed her into the wall of the closet, bringing their bodies so close their hips touched and their faces were nose-to-nose. “I mean it. You make a peep and I’m spending the next 5 minutes on the opposite wall.”

“I’ll do anything,” Scorpia admitted, “Just kiss me already.”

Perfuma caught Scorpia’s lips in her own, blending them together in a pleasant rhythm. Scorpia brought her hands up to run one through Perfuma’s hair. Perfuma’s hand moved from Scorpia’s cheek, to her neck, to her collarbone, to her-

It took all of Scorpia’s self-control to not squeak at Perfuma’s hand sliding into her cleavage to grab a breast. Her thumb rolled lazily over Scorpia’s nipple. When their faces drew apart to catch a breath, Scorpia found herself panting from the stimulation. Perfuma wouldn’t chastise her for panting, right? It wasn’t _that_ loud.

Perfuma dove in for another kiss. Scorpia’s knees went weak, but Perfuma had her pressed securely against the wall, so Scorpia did not need to hold herself up. Perfuma’s other hand ran along the spine of Scorpia’s back, sending a shiver all the way down to her toes. The shiver was so strong it was causing her to lose sensation in her toes. Now her whole foot. Wow, it was climbing up her ankle-

Oh.

Scorpia had felt that before.

She pushed Perfuma back.

Perfuma stood dumbly for a moment, uncertain, “Was that too much? I thought-”

“Perfuma I’m transforming back.”


	8. Out of the Closet

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia transforms out of her disguise by accident while in a closet with Perfuma. How will the two of them escape Bright Moon with the other princesses right outside the door?

Perfuma balked. “What do you mean you’re transforming back? You should have hours left!”

“I don’t know! But I can feel it happening!” Scorpia responded in an urgent whisper.

“Is it some sort of venom side effect? Does it make you resistant to potions?”

Scorpia shrugged. “I’ve never heard of anything like that.”

Perfuma groaned. Of course she couldn’t have just one good night, something _had_ to go wrong. How were people going to react to seeing Scorpia? Would a battle break out between her allies and her lover? She had to find a way out of this. “Whatever. Maybe if we hurry out before it entirely transforms-”

A shift in Scorpia’s weight, and Perfuma grabbed her arms in case the transformation made her dizzy enough to fall. Her distinctly crustacean arms. Perfuma’s mind continued imagining the worst. Would Perfuma be able to explain to her friends quick enough to stop their instinctual attack? Would Perfuma have to fight She-ra to protect Scorpia? Would it be better to pretend Scorpia disguised and came on her own, deceiving Perfuma? But then Perfuma would have to fight her, and with everyone else against her as well, there’s no way Scorpia could escape…

Perfuma had to stop thinking like this. There had to be a way to prevent any of that from happening. “Okay- New plan needed.”

“While we’re on the topic of new plans, this dress is _much_ too small for me in this form.”

“How small-” Perfuma groped along the fabric until she discovered much of it was very ripped in some _very_ scandalous locations. She pulled her hand back suddenly, trying not to let certain thoughts distract her from getting Scorpia out of here. “Okay, so new plan needs clothing.”

“We’re in a closet,” Scorpia pointed out helpfully, “Important first step!”

Perfuma laughed, desperate for any sort of tension relief. “You’re the cutest. Help me find something-”

Glimmer’s voice came from outside, “Are you guys decent? 30 seconds left!”

“I am _not_ decent at all!” Scorpia declared truthfully.

Perfuma groaned, but did not stop digging through the closet. The lack of light made finding something difficult, she had to rely on feel alone. Behind her, Perfuma could hear Scorpia pushing hangers aside as well for something large enough to cover her.

A soft sensation on Perfuma’s hands gave her pause. She tugged the garment, and as it fell off the coat hanger she found it pleasingly heavy. She shoved the fluffy coat towards Scorpia. “Put this on!”

“10!… 9!… 8!…”

A countdown started outside. “Ooh this feels nice!” Scorpia commented, “And there’s a hood!”

“7!… 6!… 5!…”

“I have a plan, follow my lead when we leave… anything we forgot?”

“4!… 3!… 2!…”

“Just one thing.” Scorpia grabbed Perfuma and planted a final kiss on her lips.

“1!… We’re opening the door!”

They parted just before the door flew open; Perfuma blinked at the sudden influx of light. She did not have time to let her eyes adjust for long, though. “Super sorry, but Rose caught a cold, we’re going to head out now!”

Perfuma turned back and was relieved to see Scorpia had pulled the hood of the coat over her face. It was a huge and fluffy, hopefully enough so that ‘Rose’s broadening would be less noticeable. Perfuma grabbed Scorpia’s coat sleeve, which barely covered her claws, and pulled her out of the closet. They barreled past Glimmer, not giving anyone a chance to protest.

Once outside the room, they did not slow down. Perfuma did not dare to stop, in case anyone tried to talk to them and the ruse was revealed. She could hear her heartbeat in her ears, going a mile a minute. They passed by the dance floor, which was still as loud as before, pushing through throngs of dancers to get to the exit. All her manners screamed at her to thank the guards on the way out, but she was too afraid of letting them catch a glimpse of Scorpia to stop. Perfuma was both glad she hadn’t had the joyberry juice, and wished she could down several glasses of it right at that moment to calm her nerves.

They did not stop until they were in the Whispering Woods. Perfuma let go of the coat sleeve, finally turning to face Scorpia. Scorpia did not stop, and instead continued running into Perfuma’s arms.

“Thank you,” She mumbled into Perfuma’s shoulder, “But I don’t think I’ll be going to any more parties anytime soon.”

Perfuma wrapped her arm around Scorpia, and pulled her down so the two of them could sit and catch their breath. Scorpia easily followed the movement, settling on the grass. Perfuma’s heart was still pumping, full of adrenaline. Despite being safe, her mind ran through all the things that could have happened if the coat had not been in that closet. If Scorpia had to fight her allies there… who would Perfuma have fought with?

Perfuma was against everything the Horde stood for, of course. It should have been easy to say she would fight against Scorpia. Scorpia had not stopped being a part of the Horde just because they were making out every now and again. But Scorpia wasn’t the Horde itself, she was just a woman. A soft, caring, affectionate woman. Perfuma clung tighter to Scorpia, thinking how dear she was. How could someone so kind, so considerate, so inherently _good,_ spend her days attacking innocent towns and bringing about the destruction of the world? How long could Perfuma keep the truth of Scorpia’s alliance away from their relationship?

“Are- are you crying?”

Scorpia’s voice brought Perfuma back to the present moment. Perfuma realized that, yes, she was definitely tearing up at the conflicting thoughts running through her head. Scorpia rubbed a gentle claw along Perfuma’s back.

Perfuma took the excuse to bury herself in Scorpia’s shoulder, letting out a sob. Scorpia pulled her closer, wrapping her up in a sweet embrace. “It was very stressful, you thought fast though,” Scorpia assured her.

Perfuma knew some snot was dripping onto Scorpia, and so pulled back to try and wipe at least some on her own clothes. When she wiped her eyes, she stood up. “We should probably get back to my grove.”

Scorpia smiled. “Yeah, I can’t exactly bring this coat back to the Horde, and this dress… sorry it’s a bit ruined now, by the way.”

Perfuma began walking. “Don’t even worry about it.”

As they made their way, they did not speak. Perfuma glanced sideways at Scorpia. Although she had smiled and tried to comfort Perfuma, she was also biting her lip. Perfuma might have been stressed, but Scorpia was in far more danger than Perfuma back there. Perfuma reached out a hand to hold one of Scorpia’s claws. Scorpia jumped a moment at the contact, but then gave Perfuma a warm smile.

As they walked, linked together, Scorpia broke the silence, “Do you think… it was True Love’s Kiss?”

“What?”

“That caused the transformation to wear off.”

Perfuma’s eyes widened.

Scorpia stuttered, “Like in those old fairytales, where sometimes it cures people’s curses. Just saying, it happened right after we-”

“How do you even know what True Love’s Kiss is? Do they allow fairytales in the Horde?” Perfuma shifted the subject slightly.

“I spent time with other princesses as a child, they talk.”

“I wish I had gotten to spend time with you back then.” Perfuma sighed, further moving the conversation.

“I’m glad we didn’t, I might not like you otherwise.”

That caused Perfuma’s thought process to stall. “What?”

“Most princesses weren’t very fond of me. You’d probably follow their lead.”

Perfuma tightened her grip. “You can’t decide that.”

“…Okay.” Scorpia did not sound convinced.

Perfuma decided to let the subject drop. Scorpia’s time before isolating herself from her princesshood entirely was not a time she spoke of often. It seemed to be a complicated situation.

They did not speak the rest of the way to the grove. It gave Perfuma time to stew on her thoughts further. Part of their truce ignored their respective alliances, but Perfuma realized as of tonight that no matter what, they could not ignore that forever.

It was time to issue an ultimatum to Scorpia:

Perfuma or the Horde.


	9. A Conversation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Perfuma and Scorpia have to confront what their respective alliances mean for the relationship.

In the grove, Scorpia began to take off the coat and dress. She glanced back at Perfuma, who had turned around for the sake of modesty. Scorpia would have liked to flirt a bit, but the mood was tense. Scorpia could also feel a headache creeping up on her. She sighed as she shed the dress, letting go of the dreams of being someone else who could stand by Perfuma’s side. The few hours spent pretending to be just another princess was fun, but were all a lie. Even with a transformation potion, she could not be anyone other than Force Captain Scorpia. Even if the potion had lasted the full day it was supposed to, there would never be a possibility that Scorpia could stay in this grove.

No, Scorpia’s place was in the Horde. She started putting on her uniform, reminding herself of the truth. The Horde did not party. In retrospect, Scorpia wished she brought a few bombs to strike fear into the heart of Bright Moon. Or, if she had explained the situation to Entrapta, maybe Entrapta could have given her some cool spy gadget to leave in there. But Scorpia’s head was filled with flowers and vines, mindlessly trailing after Perfuma. And so she missed a perfect opportunity to advance the Horde’s cause.

Perfuma was a weakness, because as much as Scorpia wished she could betray her, she couldn’t. As long as Perfuma would indulge her, Scorpia was willing to keep their strange truce, stealing a moment’s reprieve from the stresses of the Horde in this grove.

Once the uniform was on, Scorpia hugged Perfuma from behind. She did not want this night to end on a bad note. “It was nice to be with you.”

Perfuma turned around, her eyes immediately looking Scorpia up and down. Her lips tightened at the sight, and Scorpia was unsure what that meant. Perfuma spoke slowly. “Scorpia… thank you for coming, but…”

Fear seized Scorpia’s heart. But what? But Scorpia drank too much? But Scorpia couldn’t read the mood during Truth or Dare? But Scorpia was an embarrassment to be around?

“…But we can’t keep doing this,” Perfuma finished.

Scorpia stared at Perfuma. “I mean obviously, you don’t have any more of that potion left, right? It’d be pretty hard to get another batch, probably-”

“No, not like that!” Perfuma was louder than Scorpia had ever heard her.

Scorpia did not speak, unsure what was going on.

Perfuma looked away from her. “I mean everything. This relationship, our alliances, we can’t keep them separated forever.”

A hope Scorpia had never dared to entertain before came unbidden to her lips. “Join the Horde,” Scorpia began to babble, “I know it’s awkward, but I already told Catra I have a girlfriend, so if I told her the girl is _you_ , and you wanted to join, she would welcome you in, in spite of the fights you’ve had before.” Scorpia began to imagine it already, going out into the field with Perfuma by her side, powerful and fearsome to behold. They could crush their enemies together, then go home and cuddle once the days work was done.

Perfuma pressed a hand against her forehead. “I don’t- you guys are evil! I hate to say it, Scorpia, but it’s called the ‘Evil Horde’ for a reason!”

Scorpia furrowed her brow. “We also call you guys ‘Evil Princesses’.”

“But you guys are _actually_ evil,” Perfuma insisted, “You guys calling us evil is like, some sort of propaganda thing, we’re really not. Do you think I’m evil?”

“No,” It was not hard for Scorpia to answer, but… “Do you think _I’m_ evil?”

That caused Perfuma to sputter a moment before continuing. “N-no, that’s not what I’m trying to say.”

“Sure sounds like it. How do you know that your side isn’t doing propaganda themselves? After all, it’s not like you’ve lived in both worlds.”

“Adora has lived in both worlds, and agrees that the Horde is evil. You _asked_ her about it, defecting had to have crossed your mind.”

Scorpia prickled. “I asked because it was hard to comprehend, not because I’m considering it.”

“Please, Scorpia.” Perfuma took Scorpia’s claw in her hand. “Adora left for a reason. There has not been a princess who has left the alliance to join the Horde, doesn’t that suggest something about which side is right?”

“What about Entrapta?”

Perfuma froze. “Entrapta? What are you talking about? She was loyal to the alliance to the… to the very end.”

Scorpia was now confused. “Huh? But she’s making us cool Horde tech now. Is she a double-agent or something?”

Perfuma let go of Scorpia. “What the hell are you talking about? Entrapta _died_.”

“Entrapta’s dead?” Scorpia gasped. “Wait, when did this happen?”

“Back when Glimmer was kidnapped?”

“You guys left her,” Scorpia informed her, “She’s alive, she’s with us now.”

Perfuma took a step back. “No.”

“No?”

“You- you’re lying, you have to be,” Perfuma was breathing fast, “We mourned, I built her a monument in Plumeria.”

“Why would I lie about something like that?”

“To get me to join the Horde!” Perfuma’s eyes were wet. “How dare you besmirch Entrapta’s good name.”

Scorpia raised her arms gently, as though trying to calm an animal. “I swear I’m not lying, Perfuma, I wouldn’t lie about something like that.”

Perfuma began to cry.

Scorpia rushed over to comfort her, but Perfuma pushed her away when she got close. “She- she’s dead! How could she be alive? Why would she join the Horde?”

“If you come with me, you could ask her yourself,” Scorpia dared to suggest.

Perfuma sobbed. “I don’t know what to think anymore.”

“Then don’t think.” Scorpia hated to see Perfuma like this, but if this could push Perfuma towards the Horde, she needed to take the opportunity. “Just come with me.”

Perfuma shook her head, taking another step back.

Scorpia took another step towards her, arms outstretched invitingly, “Please Perfuma, we could spend every day together, we wouldn’t have to hide, and you could see Entrapta-”

“This is way too much to process,” Perfuma interrupted her.

Scorpia tried to wrap Perfuma in a hug. “Don’t process, just come.”

Perfuma stomped her foot, causing roots around her to burst and shove Scorpia away. Scorpia fell a few feet away. Perfuma shouted, “Go! Please, you’re just making things worse.”

“Perfuma...” Scorpia started, beginning to stand.  
Perfuma’s voice lowered, “Just go.”

As much as it pained Scorpia, she turned away. Perfuma was not allowing Scorpia to comfort her, and literally pushing her away, how could Scorpia help? And, in spite of all of Scorpia’s hidden hopes, Perfuma was not amendable to joining the Horde.

She left the grove quickly, headache now pounding in her head.

 

 

The next day, Scorpia and Catra were waiting in Entrapta’s lab. Entrapta said she had an incredible new machine to show them. Considering what Entrapta called “incredible new machines”, the actual device could be anything between an apocalyptic doomsday device and a cupcake oven.

Whatever it was, it required some complicated startup procedures. Entrapta moved between walls of dials and buttons, hair and fingers dancing between the different interfaces, causing lights and displays to blink on and off. She muttered as she worked, a rapid-fire murmur Scorpia was fond of hearing.

Scorpia was glad Entrapta had joined them. Scorpia did not wonder much about the princesses who abandoned Entrapta before. Scorpia was not an expert in social interaction, but even she could recognize the Entrapta was strange. It was something comforting to Scorpia, since Scorpia knew she came off as strange as well. But that strangeness was something Scorpia was disliked for as a child, so she assumed the other princesses just disliked Entrapta for her strangeness as well, motivating their abandonment.

Perfuma built Entrapta a monument, though. That was not something one did for someone disliked. And Perfuma said the other princesses thought Entrapta had died, giving a different explanation for abandonment. Scorpia wondered if it was her place to talk to Entrapta about that.

Scorpia definitely did not want to talk to Entrapta about the subject. Was that Scorpia recognizing that it was not her place, or wasn’t it for more selfish reasons? With such a misunderstanding cleared up, there was the distinct possibility Entrapta would leave the Horde. Then Scorpia would never get to spend time like this, watching Entrapta flutter about her machines. Not to mention nights when Entrapta would listen to Scorpia carry on and on about whatever Scorpia was excited for. And Scorpia would never again get to listen to Entrapta rant about whatever latest discovery-

Interrupting these worries, Catra groaned, clearly bored of watching Entrapta. “What is this machine? Could you at least explain instead of running around everywhere after calling us in here?”

Entrapta did not stop moving, but responded, “Will explain! First need to concentrate! Chat soon!”

Catra rolled her eyes, still bored. To alleviate this, she decided to be social for once and spoke to Scorpia, “So how was your date last night?”

Scorpia laughed, not wanting to worry Catra. “Well, it was great, specifically at the beginning, and part of the middle.”

Catra raised an eyebrow. “And…?”

“And what?” Scorpia smiled innocently at her.

“You’ve literally never spoken for less than a minute when talking about your day unless interrupted by something.”

“I _love_ that you know me so well!”

“So beginning and middle was good, how about the end?” Catra refocused the conversation.

Scorpia laughed again, trying not to make Catra pay too much attention to the words. “Well, the end was not totally lovely. We had a bit of a… spat.”

“Ooh,” Catra rubbed her hands together, “Drama?”

“I guess one could call it that.” Scorpia laughed again. Was she laughing too much?

“Well don’t leave me hanging about, what did you fight about?” Catra was practically licking her lips.

“Well, I love that you’re very interested in my life,” Scorpia began, “And I appreciate your willingness to listen to my issues. I’m grateful to have a friend so kind-”

“Stop stalling,” Catra commanded.

“It was… about our future as a couple.” Scorpia gulped, trying to think of the best way to phrase the issue without revealing the most relevant details. “We’ve been having fun, and I am serious about her, but to be serious, one of us has to change, and we can’t quite agree on who will give up certain things.”

Catra tilted her head, not comprehending with the little information. “Like what-”

“Done!” Entrapta shouted.

Scorpia sighed, relieved to be interrupted. Catra would not remain interested in Scorpia’s love life when there was more important Horde business to discuss.

Entrapta turned to them, eyes sparkling. “What I have here is a Whisperator 2.0! After borrowing some Old One’s tech that responded to the shifting energies in the Whispering Woods, I noticed the tech was giving constantly changing output. I’ve been working on an interface system that can translate the output into useful signals-”

“Can we get like, a summary?” Catra asked.

Entrapta pursed her lips. “That _was_ the summary. But if you would like an even shorter one: This technology is able to track all life inside the Whispering Woods.”

“All life?” Scorpia gaped. “Even those itty-bitty dragonflies?”

“Even those!” Entrapta assured her, “But it had to be calibrated, first, which is what I’ve been doing.”

Catra put her hands on her hips. “And you couldn’t call us _after_ calibration?”

“No I could not! Since I was trying to calibrate the machine to humanoid figures, I tried to calibrate it using my own body at first, but it was too specific, so it would only track me. When you guys came in, I scanned you and used you for further calibration, broadening the scope of humanoid figures it would track.”

“You scanned us?” Catra guffawed.

“Yes! I have scanners all around the room, so I can always check what’s in here,” Entrapta explained, “Anyway, this is all awesome, but the incredible part is: this!”

Entrapta held out a device, hefty but something one could fit in a bag. Scorpia stared at it, and reached out to experimentally poke it.

Entrapta carried on, “This is the Whisperator 2.0: Mobile! You can carry this into the field, and it can remotely update itself with information from the Whisperator 2.0!”

Scorpia realized something. “Wait, Whisperator _2.0_? What happened to number one?”

Entrapta gave a hearty laugh. “You don’t need to worry about that.”

Catra had a smile on her face. “So with this, we can track who’s in the woods, and ambush them?”

Entrapta shrugged. “Well, I can’t actually identify the exact people in the woods, but it can tell you how many and where they are.”

Scorpia was always happy to see Catra happy, and Catra was thrilled. “I think we should test it out.”

Scorpia wondered who they would end up finding. She just had to hope Perfuma would not decide to travel the Whispering Woods anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Whoops didn't intend for this to get angsty sorry y'all.
> 
> Don't worry though I like happy endings.


	10. To The Edge

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bow and Glimmer go to check on Perfuma, and encourage her to join them for an excursion in the Whispering Woods. They discuss the party, but are interrupted by someone unexpected.

“Hey Perfuma, want to join us in the Whispering Woods?”

Perfuma startled at Bow’s voice. She turned from the flowers she had been checking on to face him. She had not noticed his presence, nor Glimmer beside him, but she had been out of it the past few days. She forced herself to focus on the people that were in front of her and _not_ on a specific woman who had been haunting her thoughts. “Bow? Glimmer? Why are you inviting me out to the Whispering Woods?”

Although Perfuma occasionally joined missions with Bow and the other Princesses, generally only when she was needed. She did have Plumeria to run, after all, she couldn’t travel all the time.

Glimmer shrugged. “Is it so crazy to want to hang together with my princess buds every now and again?”

Perfuma wondered if Glimmer would ever think of Scorpia as a princess bud. Perfuma mentally pinched herself, she shouldn’t be wondering things like that. “If you want to hang out, we can have a tea party right here without risking any wild animals out in the Whispering Woods!” Perfuma told them, uncertain whether she should go out while so easily distracted.

“Please?” Bow asked while clasping his hands together, “Technically we told Queen Angella we were going to help map the woods, not to visit you, so we thought we could sneak you in while we work.”

Bow was using his puppy dog eyes. Perfuma sighed. There was no way she could get out of this without feeling terrible. “Alright.”

Bow cheered, and Glimmer grinned. Perfuma allowed some of the tenseness in her shoulders to loosen. This could be good for her. She had been a bit cooped up since her… fight. She needed to socialize, recalibrate, reconnect with people who didn’t ally with the horde and then tell Perfuma that certain people aren’t as dead as she thought-

“So here’s the map so far,” Bow brought out a big sheet of paper, folded in a million places and scattered with inked notes.

“And we’re trying to fill in some of the east side,” Glimmer told her.

Bow folded with practiced ease until only a small section of the map was visible, with much fewer notes and illustrations.

As they walked along, Perfuma got curious. “Not that I’m complaining, but what made you guys so eager to hang out all of the sudden?”

Glimmer shrugged. “To be honest we wanted to check on you a little bit.”

“You just rushed out of that party!” Bow exclaimed.

Perfuma smiled, covering for a grimace. “Oh yes! I haven’t apologized for that, I’m so sorry for hurrying out without properly saying goodbye.”

Glimmer shook her head, “No, we should be apologizing! Us forcing you and your date into the closet like that, asking a bunch of personal questions… you guys must have been uncomfortable, right?”

Perfuma looked away, “Well, I mean, maybe a little bit...”

“We didn’t realize it would make you uncomfortable enough to run away,” Bow frowned, “We shouldn’t have pushed you guys like that.”

Perfuma laughed, but could not look them in the eye. They were offering such a tidy excuse, at least she had some luck today. “Don’t even worry about it.”

“We didn’t, um…” Glimmer paused, seeming uncertain how to phrase the rest, “like, ‘ruin your chances’ with Rose, did we?”

Perfuma could feel her smile get more strained by the minute, so she walked slightly faster so they could not see her expression. “No, you guys didn’t ruin anything.”

Bow caught up to Perfuma easily and nudged her side. “So is there a chance we can meet her again? Maybe in a bit more sober situation? I promise we’ll behave.”

Perfuma forced her legs to keep moving. Unfortunately, their path led them to a cliff over a ravine, so Perfuma was forced to stop and turn to face them. She carefully maintained her smile. Don’t let them see that it affected her. “I want to assure you guys that it’s not your fault, but we didn’t work out.” Perfuma laughed. “In fact, I don’t think we’ll ever see her again.”

Glimmer convulsed suddenly, with a scream.

Bow and Perfuma immediately jumped into offensive mode, bending their knees and turning towards Glimmer, who was now falling to the ground. Behind her, Catra held a baton, sputtering with electric energy. “Well, well, look what we have here.”

As Catra spoke, a broad-shouldered figure came out from the shoulders to respond. She held a strange electronic contraption in her clawed hands, and Perfuma wondered if that was one of the technologies Entrapta was apparently creating for the horde.

When Scorpia met Perfuma’s eyes, she smiled, eyebrows upturned as though to apologize. Perfuma pursed her lips, glaring at Scorpia before refocusing on Catra. Catra swirled her baton casually, before moving to shock Glimmer again. Perfuma quickly uprooted the ground between the two of them, using the roots to pull Glimmer towards Bow and Perfuma. Perfuma’s breath quickened; if this continued, she would have to fight her ex-girlfriend. Although they were no longer together, the idea of hurting Scorpia physically created a knot in her stomach.

Glimmer groaned, eventually standing back up with some support from Bow. “What do you want, Catra?” Glimmer spat out.

Catra laughed. “No She-ra with you guys today? Must be our lucky day.”

“We’re doing literally nothing that interferes with Horde business right now,” Perfuma defended them, hoping to diffuse the situation, “Do we really need to fight? What about a truce so we can go our separate ways?”

Perfuma dared to look back at Scorpia, who was still staring at her, gratefulness radiating from her eyes.

Catra scoffed. “I know you’re going to mess with us sooner or later. It’s much better that we take care of you while you don’t have She-ra protecting you.”

“Miscalculation,” Bow countered, “Adora fights _with_ us, but we’re plenty strong on our own as well.”

Perfuma’s stomach dropped as Bow notched an arrow. That movement triggered Catra and Scorpia to jump into action. Perfuma deliberately targeted Catra with a criss-cross of vines, trying to envelope her, but Catra was lithe and dodged every movement with nimble feet. Out of the side of her eye, Perfuma saw Scorpia targeting Glimmer, who teleported away from a tail stab. Glimmer reappeared above Catra, but Catra rolled away from Glimmer’s falling body. Scorpia ended up cornering Bow on the edge of the cliff. She side-stepped to prevent him from escaping, leaving him no choice but to engage. With a shout, he charged towards Scorpia as if to tackle her. She responded in kind, outstretching her arms and leaning forward to catch him in her claws.

However, at the last possible moment, Bow dropped into a roll and knocked Scorpia’s ankles. Off-balance, Scorpia tumbled forward, directly off the cliff. “Scorpia!” Perfuma shouted instinctively, as though she could call her back from the edge. A burst of emotion coursed through her, flashing her back to the moment when the Horde doors closed on Entrapta…

Perfuma’s arms were moving before she realized it, shoving roots through the earth. Aimed just a few feet below the edge, she focused all her energy on creating a barrier between Scorpia and the fatal drop below. Scorpia was now no longer visible, completely over the ledge she fell from, but Perfuma had to hope her plants could hold her. With an aggressive pull, Perfuma forced the plants up from the side back towards the stable ground.

A sigh of relief escaped Perfuma when she saw Scorpia rise with the mass, cradled by curled roots. Scorpia leaned on the mass, eyes wide. Her pupils darted towards Perfuma, and her mouth opened as if to say something…

Something Perfuma missed as she was shocked from behind.


	11. The Truth Come Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia and Perfuma have some explaining to do.

Well it was nice to know Perfuma didn’t want Scorpia to die.

As soon as the roots carried her up, she saw Glimmer and Bow glancing between the two of them, uncertain what exactly had occurred with their ally. Scorpia’s gaze finally landed on Perfuma.

Perfuma’s face was naked relief. The sight caused Scorpia’s heart to swell. Despite their breakup, Scorpia was hardly immune to her lingering feelings, and seeing Perfuma struggle with the same gave Scorpia a strange comfort. There was even the slightest satisfaction upon seeing Perfuma working so hard for Scorpia’s sake. Scorpia could see sweat rolling along her face, even from such a distance away.

And behind her, Catra.

Scorpia called out “Wait!” just a moment too late as Catra rammed her electric baton into Perfuma’s back.

Glimmer immediately teleported to Perfuma, grabbing Perfuma and teleporting away again. Bow, angling his body so his back was not directly to Scorpia, notched another arrow towards Catra. Catra hurried to him, not giving him a chance to fire, drawing him into close combat. Glimmer teleported right behind Catra, forcing Catra to draw back.

Scorpia knew she should be supporting Catra, but she was still frozen in place, wrapped up in Perfuma’s plant embrace. She wished she could stay there for the rest of the fight. She shook her head to get out of the muddiness clouding her feelings. The battlefield was not the correct place to muse on her ex-girlfriend’s actions. Nonetheless, she couldn’t help but look at Perfuma’s collapsed body. There was a groan from it. She let out a breath she didn’t realize she had been holding.

Now reassured, Scorpia charged into the fray, grabbing Bow from behind as he aimed at Catra and Glimmer. With that distraction, Catra was able to sink her claws into Glimmer, leading to a shout from Glimmer as she teleported away again, appearing behind Scorpia and aiming a solid kick at Scorpia’s which she barely dodged.

Now with both of them on Scorpia, it was hard to keep an eye on Perfuma. That didn’t stop her from trying, and as a result she saw the danger before Glimmer or Bow. Catra, now freed from assault, was again approaching Perfuma, who slowly lifted her head. Both her allies were terribly focused on Scorpia, though, to the point where Scorpia would not be able to tactically evade them to defend Perfuma.

“Perfuma!” Scorpia shouted her name, hoping to remind her allies about her vulnerable state.

Fortunately it worked, as both immediately turned, leading Glimmer to teleport for defense. Catra took a step back, looking at Scorpia with a confused expression. “What the hell, Scorpia?”

Scorpia shrugged, trying to deflect with an innocent smile. “I’ll explain after the fight.”

Unfortunately, everyone else finally seemed to want to stop, paused by confusion. Glimmer and Bow, holding Perfuma, were now a solid 20 feet away from both Scorpia and Catra, who had plenty of distance between each other as well. Although everyone was in defensive stances, people did not seem interested in initiating the next round of fighting until this unusual behavior from Perfuma and Scorpia got sorted out.

Bow raised a hand. “I’m also very interested in why you just helped us.”

Scorpia laughed. “What? Just paying back a favor! After all, she saved me first!”

Catra crossed her arms. Perfuma, held up by Bow, lifted her head enough to glare at Scorpia. Now everyone was looking at Perfuma, expecting her to explain. “Wow, throwing me under the bus?” She asked Scorpia.

Catra now had her eyes narrowed at Scorpia. Scorpia waved her arms, as if she could wipe away everything that had just happened. Could Entrapta create a memory-erasing machine? “Do you really think this is the right time to explain?” Scorpia challenged Perfuma.

“Explain what?” Glimmer asked, eyebrow raised.

Perfuma pushed Bow gently, showing she had recovered enough to stand on her own. “Well I’m not going to pretend I rescued a Horde soldier  _just because_ .”

Catra looked between the two of them, eyes widening. She gasped. “Scorpia, is Perfuma the girl?”

“What girl?” Bow asked.

Scorpia bit her lip, looking away. The jig was up.

Catra marched straight up to Scorpia and grabbed her Horde uniform, pulling her down to Catra’s height so Catra could stare into her eye. “Scorpia, are you secretly dating  _a princess_ ?”

Scorpia smiled, trying to ignore how loud Catra was at this distance. “Just to be clear, we broke up.”

Glimmer and Bow both made a sound of surprise, between a squeak and gasp. Scorpia couldn’t look at them, with Catra demanding her attention. Catra was angry, for sure, but underneath there was a pain behind her eyes that made Scorpia’s heart ache.

“I’m sorry,” Scorpia tried to assure her.

“Can you turn your back on her?” Catra spoke, suddenly quiet, “Or are you going to be like this every fight? Defending her?”

Scorpia hated the answer. Catra was one of her dearest friends. In spite of her prickly demeanor, Scorpia knew there was an ocean of emotion hidden beneath her shield of fur and claws. And staring into her eyes, Scorpia glimpsed a rare emotion on Catra: Desperation. Scorpia could already feel pain piercing her heart, but she knew if she lied now she would regret it sooner or later. “I’m sorry, Catra, but I… I can’t hurt her.”

Catra let go of Scorpia and turned away, closing Scorpia away from her reaction. Her shoulders were hunched. “Don’t come back to the Horde. We don’t take traitors.”

With those parting words, Catra bolted, running into the depths of the woods, not giving Scorpia a chance to explain or apologize again. Scorpia stared after her, knowing a chase would be useless. Catra did not go back on her word.

Bow’s voice eventually brought Scorpia back. “…Wait, what?”

Scorpia turned to their group. Perfuma stared at her, brows furrowed, uncertain, mouth barely parted as though she couldn’t decide what to say.

Scorpia opened her arms. “Take me back?”

Perfuma’s face broke out into a smile, and she ran towards Scorpia. She jumped into Scorpia’s arms, allowing Scorpia to wrap her up and spin her around, letting her hair and dress swirl. Perfuma’s face was buried into the crook of Scorpia’s neck, and the warmth was everything Scorpia had missed.

As painful as it was to separate from Catra and the Horde, Scorpia couldn’t bear to regret choosing Perfuma’s relieved giggling on her shoulder. When they stopped spinning, Perfuma pulled back, her eyes sparkling. She pulled her hand behind Scorpia’s head and pulled her into a kiss, which Scorpia gladly returned, dipping Perfuma in the air.

When they parted again, all smiles, Glimmer spoke, “No, really, what?”


	12. Good Morning

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Scorpia and Perfuma have a good morning.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Turns out there's Scorfuma fanart now, check it out: <https://ninjakittycomics.tumblr.com/post/183111949268/been-reading-a-scorpion-among-the-roses-on-ao3>

Scorpia woke up with arms around her waist. She yawned and glanced over at Perfuma, still sleeping. Even as Scorpia shifted, Perfuma kept a fierce grip on her, eyes still closed and breathing evenly. Scorpia stared at her face, freckles dotting her cheeks, and marveled at the peaceful expression.

She could get used to this.

There was no morning training to run. No mission to rush off to. No explosion in the middle of the night from an Entrapta experiment gone wrong. Just a soft, quiet night with the girl she loved.

Well,  _eventually_ quiet.

Discussing the relationship with Glimmer and Bow had been… eventful. They were expressive people, and not afraid to show when they were shocked. They had also suggested Scorpia go to jail, but Perfuma threatened mutiny from that, and the two of them backed down for now.

Scorpia cuddled closer to Perfuma. Of course she had done crimes against Bright Moon and the Princess Rebellion, but hopefully her powers in support of the cause could be her atonement. She would rather be on the battlefield beside Perfuma than in a jail cell.

Perfuma stirred, and her eyes fluttered open. Upon seeing Scorpia, her face broke out into a smile. Scorpia could not help but to return the smile with her own. Scorpia kissed Perfuma’s forehead. “Good morning.”

Perfuma returned the kiss, but meeting lips. “Any morning with you is a good morning.”

Scorpia gave a happy hum. “You’re going to have a lot of good mornings from now on.”

Perfuma started to roll, a squeal escaping her. “I’m not dreaming, right?”

“I hope not.”

“You… You really left the horde?” Perfuma’s voice was a whisper, as if she was afraid speaking too loud would cause the dream to come crashing down.

“Well, ‘kicked out’ might be a bit more accurate, but I will be helping your rebellion from now on, so long as I get to fight with you.”

Perfuma smirked. “Instead of against me?”

“I gotta admit, being seduced by the enemy was kinda hot.”

“Weren’t you the one doing the seducing?”

“You kissed me first.”

Perfuma pouted. “You approached me first.”

Scorpia sighed, still staring at Perfuma’s gorgeous face. “What’ll we do now?”

Perfuma’s face became serious. Her voice lowered as well, a tone that made Scorpia’s heart quicken. “Well, obviously we’ll need to update you on our current battle plans, if you’re willing to share it’d be good to get Horde intel from you, and on that note we’ll need a plan to extract Entrapta as well…”

“Good ideas, good plans, I support, but those seem like slightly more future plans.” Scorpia ran a claw along Perfuma’s body. “I was asking what we’ll do  _now_ .”

Realization dawned on Perfuma’s face. Her lips drew back into a smile. She pressed closer to Scorpia. “I think a celebration is in order.”

“Like a party?” Scorpia bit her lip. Her track record with parties was… less than stellar.

“Private party,” Perfuma tugged at Scorpia’s clothes. “Guest list: two hot woman. Location: My bed.”

“I like the sound of that.”


End file.
